Guatemala in 2009; Israel in 2010

I am getting excited about two upcoming trips - Guatemala in December and Israel in late February. The Guatemala trip will be a first for me and for the community. I will lead a group of teenagers and a few adult chaperones on a volunteer trip to Cantel, a village in the mountains of Guatemala. Why? How else can I teach the difference between need and want other than by exposing these privileged kids to people who live with some needs met and few wants even considered? We live in an environment of good fortune and opportunity where broken iPods are tragedies and where parents who do not upgrade their kids' iPhones every time Steve Jobs sends a new one to market are just plain mean. Aside from this lofty goal, I just think the adventure will be incredible and perspective-altering.

Israel in the spring...There are few places as beautiful and as deeply moving. Every time I return to Israel, I connect past to present and make sense of a piece of my identity that cannot be fully addressed in other places. I can't wait to see Israel again through the eyes of people seeing her for the very first time.

Eric Menyuk or "Menyuk the Maginficent" on Purim

I heard the Megillah read three times this last Purim and by far the most engaging version was Eric Menyuk's rendition at our VOS service. Eric was a wonderful addition to a great evening in which many of our JEWELS students led us in prayers of the Shabbat service for the first time.

Thoughts on Kashrut - Dietary Laws

I have been studying Jewish dietary laws over the past couple of months.  I have no doubt that they were created for a slower and less aggressive world than the one that we now inhabit. I recently read that a farmer would raise and fatten a pig  (no, not a kosher example) for two years before it reached the point where it could be profitably slaughtered.  But now, we have condensed that once natural process to six months!  Jewish dietary laws concerning animals focus on the humaneness of slaughtering (shechitah) but we have to wonder if the Author of these laws had any concept of the life that we would one day afford our animals prior to their slaughter?  In biblical days or even talmudic times, who raised chickens in tiny metal cages and slaughtered them after only one month of rapid growth?  The examples are too numerous to mention but they do force us to ask whether or not kashrut itself needs to be revisited in light of modernity.

Brigadier General Relik Shafir at VOS - March 20th

Our synagogue enjoyed a visit from Brigadier General Shafir. The general came an an envoy of the Israel Air Force Foundation and shared a Purim Shabbat with us before addressing the congregation on intricacies of flight and Middle East politics. Next year, we hope to meet with him again when we visit an air force base in Israel.

VOS Celebrates Tu Bishvat at Shalom Institute

What a day! The rain left us long enough to enjoy a sunny hike, plant a peach tree for VOS, hear the fabulous Rick Recht and Soul Aviv with Jack and the VOS band in concert.  Jonah and Hannah had the thrill of singing Hinei Ma Tov with Rick much to our delight.  Thanks to Bill Kaplan and the staff at Camp JCA Shalom who put on a terrific event.

2009 VOS Dinner with Cantor Ron

For the past couple of years, I have auctioned off a Shabbat Gourmet Dinner as a fundraising item for the synagogue.  I love to cook and with the help of Larry Rudner, Bronwen, guest chefs, Jonah and Hannah, and a talented and devoted kitchen staff of friends, I knew that the evening would be fun and delicious. Thanks to Larry, Laurie and Marsha for a great event. 

  

Israel in December - A VOS Family Trip

Thirty four of us landed in Tel Aviv on December 22nd.  The next ten days were extraordinary - camel riding in the desert, goat milking and cheese making in the Galilee, jeep rides on the Golan Heights, digging in two thousand year old caves in Beit Guvrin, and two beautiful Bar Mitzvahs - one atop the ancient Roman fortress of Masada and another in the Sephardic Synagogue in Jerusalem... It was an amazing trip and an incredible experience for all of our families.