News

Dear JCOGS family,

As I write, the State of Israel is in one of the most tumultuous times of its short history, which is saying a lot for a country often plagued by war and terror.  As we stand weeks from Israel’s 75th birthday, folks across the political spectrum are saying that Israel may be on the brink of “an abyss,” a “critical”, "dramatic”, “historic moment”, and so on.

In brief, the current coalition government led by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has attempted to put forth substantive legislative reforms to the judicial system, including the option for a simple majority in the legislature to overturn Israel’s Supreme Court decisions.  In response, a large swath of the Israeli population in the hundreds of thousands has taken to the streets in protest to these potential sweeping legislative changes.  As of earlier this week, the prime minister slowed down the process in response to the protests, G-d willing, towards dialogue, as the formal legislative session pauses its work for Passover through Israeli Independence Day, while opposing delegations meet with each other with the guidance of President Isaac Herzog.  A more comprehensive update can be found here.

After five months of learning together, a cohort of JCOGS members wrapped up study about ethics with the Shalom Hartman Institute’s curriculum Foundations for a Thoughtful Judaism.  The final classes focused on moral imperatives, impervious ethical standards which we ought to refuse to budge on principle, and moral concerns, ethics that can be compromised on, based on circumstance or other competing values or pragmatics.  We explored questions such as: What morals and values do you hold most dear that they should always be defended?  Which morals can be compromised on?  The famous scholar Isaiah Berlin argued that “compromises, trade-offs, arrangements have to be made if the worst is not to happen.”  

What values will be upheld in Israel?  Which areas might Israel and its people find compromise or consensus?  Will Israel avert a worst-case scenario?

From what I have read, it seems that much of Israeli society agrees that some judicial reform is needed in Israel.  Yet, to protesters, the current government went too far, too fast, attempting to undo the balance of power in government.  For some, the protests do not go far enough to reflect the values of all of Israel's citizens.  While in the past, protests in Israel have mostly been from those further on the margins of the centre, this month’s protests have included major leaders from within the military and air force, high-tech, universities, religious communities, medical professionals, bankers, labor unions, and even settlements.

I, personally, am inspired by the protesters.  When I think of the State of Israel that I love, my moral imperative includes a strong, vibrant democracy, one with the people’s voices being heard, and with checks and balances that can withstand a majority’s inclination to neglect or oppress its minorities.  As one of our members pointed out with hope, this current moment in Israeli history is democracy at its best, as demonstrations featured non-violent means to achieve their moral imperatives.  This week, I was especially moved by pictures and videos of a spectrum of secular and religious Jewish Israelis on the streets coming together, showing up for a vibrant democracy.

On this side of the world, major mainstream North American Jewish organizations have taken a strong stand as the Jewish Federations of North America, the Conference of Presidents, the Anti-Defamation League, and the American Jewish Committee released this statement:

“We welcome the Israeli government’s suspension of legislative consideration of judicial reform measures. The last three months have been painful to watch and yet a textbook case of democracy in action. We respect the political leaders, business executives, community activists, cultural figures, and ordinary Israelis who took to the streets, exercising their love of country, and their passion for democracy. As a next step, we encourage all Knesset factions, coalition and opposition alike, to use this time to build a consensus that includes the broad support of Israeli civil society.  Israel’s political leaders must insist on a more respectful tone and debate.  A hallmark of democracy is public consensus and mutual consideration.”

As a Jewish leader, I know well how building consensus is not a simple task and I also appreciate the complexities of judicial reform in Israel.  And I understand and recognize the wide range of political orientations in our own congregation, including on this topic.

Still, in Israel and here, we need not compromise on the fundamental principles we hold dear, including democracy.  There are moral imperatives that ought to prevail.  And I also pray that the leaders and ordinary people of Israel will find their way respectfully towards some compromise that centres public consensus and policy for the betterment of Israeli society and, thus, for all of us. Anything less may tear apart the Israel of the past 75 years.

As we enter Shabbat, with our prayers pointed towards Jerusalem, what are your prayers for this current time?  What are the values and principles that you hope will guide Israel into the future?  And to reflect more broadly, what, in your life, are the moral imperatives and concerns that you hold most dear?

Tihiyu bri’im, may you be healthy.  Shabbat Shalom,

Rabbi David

Announcements and Upcoming Events

Dear Mitzvah folks,

Thanks for the engaging class this past Shabbat.  It was the first time this year that we had everyone having a Mitzvah celebration with us for class, and that was very meaningful.  

Below, you will see last week's email as a reminder.  In addition, there is further homework for the Mitzvah teens.  Parents, please make sure that your students are receiving these emails and doing their work accordingly.

Homework:

• It’s time to start writing a more full draft of your D’var Torah!  Here’s what to do:
• Review and make sure you are happy with your summary and your question(s).  
• Choose and explore your one (or two) big question(s) and topic with your tutor, your parents, a trusted teacher at home, friends, anyone that will listen to you!
• Here is the outline of a D'var Torah/the elements that should be included.
• CONTINUE TO EXPLORE COMMENTARIES: From the highlights section in the back of your blue parashah books, SEFARIA.ORG, BimBam, Google, etc.  Try your best to find some commentaries that address your specific big question(s) and summarize them.
• Begin piecing it all together as one draft. The more you do now, the less pressure there is as we get closer to the big date.

Rabbi David

_______________________________________________________________

Dear Mitzvah makers,

Looking forward to this Saturday's second class on How to Write a D'var Torah.  I loved our first class and am excited to see what comes next for our learning together.  Don't forget:

Homework for Mitzvah students​​​​​​​

• Create a google doc called “D’var Torah - YOUR NAME” and type up all of your questions about your Torah portion (over 10 big and small questions), start thinking about what your one big question might be.  Also write a 1-2 paragraph summary of your entire Torah portion.
• Read the back section of your Torah portion booklet called "Highlights from your parashah".  Summarize 3 points that the commentators make about your Torah portion that you agree with or that you want to challenge.
• Bonus: Start reading commentaries online about your Torah portion.  Google your Torah portion’s name and see what you find out and include some other commentaries.
• On a separate google doc called “Welcome Speech - YOUR NAME,” describe in 1-2 paragraphs to your families and guests at the Mitzvah ceremony why this day is special for you/why you are having this day…
• All of this needs to be prepared and printed out for our next How to Write a D’var Torah class on March 25.
• Below is a description of elements of a D’var Torah.
• Finally, all recordings of prayers for the Shabbat morning service can now be found here:
  
  

https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1SveJLjD7W6z81WKBJJ-3EunUzmpodTzR?usp=sharing

Those with an asterisk * are the primary ones for you to learn.  The others are supplementary and would be good for you to accustom yourselves with so they are more familiar.  All pages correspond to the red Siddur Lev Shalem.

Happy learning!

Rabbi David

Elements of a D’var Torah: NOT NECESSARILY IN THIS ORDER.
***NOT JUST A SUMMARY.  MUST HAVE A LESSON/MESSAGE.***

a. Intro
       i.  “Shabbat Shalom”
       ii.  Trigger: Story, joke, question...GRAB PEOPLE’S ATTENTION
       iii.  Summarize your entire Torah portion
       iv.  Summarize the particular story/passage you will be talking about (Be specific in a few short sentences.)

b.  Share your key question(s) and elaborate

c.  Answering your question
         i.  What have previous commentators said about your Torah portion and your key question?
              1.   Offer different rabbinic answers and expound upon them, why you        agree/disagree with 2-3 particular commentators.
               2.  Offer the answer you like best, and say why

d.  Personalize (What does this question I am asking/parashah mean to me?)
         i.Tie the ideas to your life and greater society:
              1. Tell a story or two about your life that relates.
                    a. Show how you:
                        i.  Look at that story based on what you learned from your Torah                                   portion, or
                       ii.  Look at the Torah portion based on that story.
               2.  Explain how the parashah connects to the greater world/a pressing issue.
               3.  Explain how you will act as a responsible Jewish adult, now that you know the teaching from your Torah portion
                4.  If your Torah portion ties in with your Mitzvah project, speak about your Mitzvah project

e.  Thank people

f.  Offer a blessing that expresses your hope that people will live by the lesson/take away/key message

Dear Mitzvah makers,

Looking forward to this Saturday's second class on How to Write a D'var Torah.  I loved our first class and am excited to see what comes next for our learning together.  Don't forget:

Homework for Mitzvah students

• Create a google doc called “D’var Torah - YOUR NAME” and type up all of your questions about your Torah portion (over 10 big and small questions), start thinking about what your one big question might be.  Also write a 1-2 paragraph summary of your entire Torah portion.
• Read the back section of your Torah portion booklet called "Highlights from your parashah".  Summarize 3 points that the commentators make about your Torah portion that you agree with or that you want to challenge.
• Bonus: Start reading commentaries online about your Torah portion.  Google your Torah portion’s name and see what you find out and include some other commentaries.
• On a separate google doc called “Welcome Speech - YOUR NAME,” describe in 1-2 paragraphs to your families and guests at the Mitzvah ceremony why this day is special for you/why you are having this day…
• All of this needs to be prepared and printed out for our next How to Write a D’var Torah class on March 25.
• Below is a description of elements of a D’var Torah.

• Finally, all recordings of prayers for the Shabbat morning service can now be found here:
  
  

https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1SveJLjD7W6z81WKBJJ-3EunUzmpodTzR?usp=sharing

Those with an asterisk * are the primary ones for you to learn.  The others are supplementary and would be good for you to accustom yourselves with so they are more familiar.  All pages correspond to the red Siddur Lev Shalem.

Happy learning!

Rabbi David

Elements of a D’var Torah: NOT NECESSARILY IN THIS ORDER.
***NOT JUST A SUMMARY.  MUST HAVE A LESSON/MESSAGE.***

a. Intro
       i.  “Shabbat Shalom”
       ii.  Trigger: Story, joke, question...GRAB PEOPLE’S ATTENTION
       iii.  Summarize your entire Torah portion
       iv.  Summarize the particular story/passage you will be talking about (Be specific in a few short sentences.)

b.  Share your key question(s) and elaborate

c.  Answering your question
         i.  What have previous commentators said about your Torah portion and your key question?
              1.   Offer different rabbinic answers and expound upon them, why you        agree/disagree with 2-3 particular commentators.
               2.  Offer the answer you like best, and say why

d.  Personalize (What does this question I am asking/parashah mean to me?)
         i.Tie the ideas to your life and greater society:
              1. Tell a story or two about your life that relates.
                    a. Show how you:
                        i.  Look at that story based on what you learned from your Torah                                   portion, or
                       ii.  Look at the Torah portion based on that story.
               2.  Explain how the parashah connects to the greater world/a pressing issue.
               3.  Explain how you will act as a responsible Jewish adult, now that you know the teaching from your Torah portion
                4.  If your Torah portion ties in with your Mitzvah project, speak about your Mitzvah project

e.  Thank people

f.  Offer a blessing that expresses your hope that people will live by the lesson/take away/key message

Dear Hartman Foundations for a Thoughtful Judaism cohort bet (two),​​​​​​​

We meet on Zoom TONIGHT, 5:45-7:30PM, and the topic is: Making Moral Choices & The Moral Concern Approach (Unit 3, Class 2).  The final class is on March 27.  Don’t miss these two final opportunities for learning!

There are lots of materials to review HERE.
The podcasts can and should be listened to at your leisure.  They are compelling takes on some of the main issues we are talking about.  There is no timeline to listening to them.

Below you will find the Zoom link, as well as all of the sessions and the final learning celebration through the end of our learning.  Please mark your calendars now so you don’t miss a thing!

Rabbi David and Barbara Segal

ZOOM LINK FOR THE SESSION:


​​​​Meeting ID: 802 253 1800
Passcode: jcogs
​​​​​​​
UNIT 3 MAKING MORAL CHOICES
● The Moral Concern Approach - March 13, 2023
● Managing Tensions + Conclusion - March 27, 2023
FINAL LEARNING CELEBRATION
● Friday, May 26, 6-8:30PM Shabbat-Shavuot Services + Dinner + Shavuot
Learning with JCOGS participants of Foundations for a Thoughtful Judaism

Dear Hartman Foundations for a Thoughtful Judaism cohort bet (two),​​​​​​​

We meet on Zoom this coming Monday, March 13, 5:45-7:30PM, and the topic is: Making Moral Choices & The Moral Concern Approach (Unit 3, Class 2).  The final class is on March 27.  Don’t miss these two final opportunities for learning!

There are lots of materials to review HERE.
The podcasts can and should be listened to at your leisure.  They are compelling takes on some of the main issues we are talking about.  There is no timeline to listening to them.

Below you will find the Zoom link, as well as all of the sessions and the final learning celebration through the end of our learning.  Please mark your calendars now so you don’t miss a thing!

Rabbi David and Barbara Segal

ZOOM LINK FOR THE SESSION:


​​​​Meeting ID: 802 253 1800
Passcode: jcogs
​​​​​​​
UNIT 3 MAKING MORAL CHOICES
● The Moral Concern Approach - March 13, 2023
● Managing Tensions + Conclusion - March 27, 2023
FINAL LEARNING CELEBRATION
● Friday, May 26, 6-8:30PM Shabbat-Shavuot Services + Dinner + Shavuot
Learning with JCOGS participants of Foundations for a Thoughtful Judaism

Dear Hartman Foundations for a Thoughtful Judaism cohort bet (two),

We meet on Zoom TONIGHT, Monday, Feb 13, 5:45-7:30PM, and the topic is: Making Moral Choices & The Moral Imperative Approach (Unit 3, Class 1).  We’re delighted that Sara Labaton of the Shalom Hartman Institute of North America will teaching/facilitating the session.  See Sara’s bio below.

There are lots of materials to review HERE:

1. We’ve added some contemporary additional reading materials under “Class 6” before tonight's class.

2.The podcasts can and should be listened to at your leisure.  They are compelling takes on some of the main issues we are talking about.  There is no timeline to listening to them.

Below you will find the Zoom link, as well as all of the sessions and the final learning celebration through the end of our learning.  Please mark your calendars now so you don’t miss a thing!

Rabbi David and Barbara Segal

ZOOM LINK FOR THE SESSION:
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/8022531800?pwd=rp4EY4qVuaEBp26bbN32j46oB3sJcE.1

​​​​​​Meeting ID: 802 253 1800
Passcode: jcogs

UNIT 3 MAKING MORAL CHOICES
● The Moral Imperative Approach - Feb 13, 2023
● The Moral Concern Approach - March 13, 2023
● Managing Tensions + Conclusion - March 27, 2023

FINAL LEARNING CELEBRATION
● Friday, May 26, 6-8:30PM Shabbat-Shavuot Services + Dinner + Shavuot
Learning with JCOGS participants of Foundations for a Thoughtful Judaism

Dr. Sara Labaton is Director of Teaching and Learning at the Shalom Hartman Institute of North America, where she serves as a conduit between the Kogod Research Center and program directors, overseeing programmatic excellence and ensuring that research topics and content are informed by the realities of the field and experience of program participants. She was a member of the inaugural cohort of North American David Hartman Center Fellows.

Sara received a B.A. in Religious Studies from Columbia University and a doctorate in Medieval Jewish Thought from the Skirball Department of Hebrew and Judaic Studies at NYU. Her doctoral thesis focused on the relationship between the esoteric and peshat hermeneutics in the commentaries of Abraham ibn Ezra, particularly with regard to ibn Ezra’s understanding of biblical cultic rituals.
​​​​​​​
Sara was a founding faculty member of Yeshivat Hadar, where she developed a Bible and Exegesis curriculum. She has taught in a variety of Jewish settings, most recently as a history instructor at the Frisch School. Her research interests include the intersection of ritual and relevance, ritual experimentation, and overcoming the binary of halakhic–non-halakhic/insider-outsider in Jewish ritual practice. As part of her participation in the Religious Worlds Seminar at the Interfaith Center of New York, Sara researched ways of integrating comparative religion into Jewish educational contexts.

​​​​​​​

Dear JCOGS family,

I’m excited to share this note from Beth Liberman, our Director of Education, as well as a special poem.

Last Shabbat, we gathered at Beth Jacob Synagogue for a family-friendly Shabbat service.  Jonah Ibson, our longstanding Jewish life curriculum teacher, shared the poem that he and his Jewish life class had created about Eitz haChayyim, the Tree of Life that is our Torah and our source of life.  Listening to the words, shared with you below, was a profoundly moving moment for me.  Keep reading and let yourself be moved.

Tihiyu bri’im, be well.  Shabbat Shalom,

Rabbi David

A special note from Beth Liberman:

Curriculum at our Olam Chesed Education Center is like the rings of a tree. We take core concepts of Jewish life that are foundational to growing mensches, and we build upon them, year-by-year. 

In this fifth year of our thematic curriculum we are exploring the theme of חַי chai/life.  This year, as with each year, we build upon the previous years' themes: holy/kadosh > blessing/brachah > mitzvah > shalom.
 
These single-word themes harvested from our liturgy and the curriculum they inspire offer a roadmap for our children to explore and discover a relationship with the divine.

Lifecycles have been a prominent theme this year (l’chayyim!), with a mock baby naming, Mitzvah celebration, and chuppah in our sanctuary.  And we have also been noticing the word חַי in our prayers and songs. For Tu biShevat this year, we explored the Tree of Life, Eitz haChayyim as both a metaphor for Torah as well as our connectedness to one another and the universe as one. Enjoy these photos of the Eitz haChayyim ice sculpture that we built and the poem that our youth and teacher Jonah wrote together.

Beth Liberman
Director of Education
​​​​​​​

Judaism is a tree of life

Judaism is a tree of life.
The roots are our lifeline to the ancestors who have come before 
and who keep us grounded.
The trunk is all of  the teachings that help us live good lives.
The branches and leaves are the questions we ask and all there is to learn.

Judaism is a tree of life.
The roots are all the twisting pathways and ways we can be Jewish. 
The trunk is the strength of our community.
The branches and leaves are all the ways we can be different but still connected.

Judaism is a tree of life.
The roots are how we cooperate, like the ways trees send nutrients to their fellows in need through their root systems.
The trunk is how we pass knowledge and wisdom between generations like water and food flowing up and down a tree.
The branches and leaves are the children, growing, and yet to be born.

Judaism is a tree of life.
Whoever holds fast to her will be happy.

Announcements and Upcoming Events

See information below about community resources due to extreme cold.

Dear Beth Jacob and JCOGS congregations,

It’s not often that I get to write to two congregations with one “pen.”  For the past years, Beth Jacob in Montpelier and JCOGS in Stowe have been partnering together to educate our youth.  While some synagogues choose to compete against each other, we chose a different route: one of symbiosis, all under the Olam Chesed Education Center banner.

Tomorrow/Shabbat morning at 10AM, as a special occasion, we will pray together in the Beth Jacob sanctuary in Montpelier for Shabbat Shirah, the Shabbat of Song, the Torah portion where our Israelite ancestors crossed the sea in song and freedom.  Come out of the cold, as you are comfortable and able, and into the warmth embrace of our tradition as we join our youth for this heimishe/homey, festive service.  Delicious kiddush lunch to follow.  You can also join us online by registering HERE.

Beth Liberman, Director of Education, has been at the helm of both BJ and JCOGS education programs, steering the ship along with volunteers and other staff.  At BJ, we’ve seen a burgeoning religious school experience meeting every Tuesday, and wonderful turnout and engagement during a once-a-month dynamic Sunday youth program.  The growth and potential is exciting.

At JCOGS, our Kinderlach and Gesher Shabbat morning program is lively as ever and our flagship Wednesday program for elementary school age students engages multiple modalities.

Cultivation of our Mitzvah students is paramount.  This joint program of BJ-JCOGS that meets on Shabbat mornings means that students (and some parents too!) from both shuls come together to learn the skills of learning prayers, leyning (chanting from the Torah), and how to write a d’var Torah/sermon.  Above all, we use Jewish ethics and rituals to learn how to guide the next generation of global citizens for this 21st century.

And after a short hiatus, teen engagement is ramping up with our Ateed program.  Stay tuned!

Sometimes we meet at our separate buildings, as two ships on the Sea of Reeds on parallel tracks.  But sometimes we come together.  During January and February, both elementary-age programs from BJ and JCOGS have been meeting online all together.  What a joy to see the communities truly united as teachers and students of our shared tradition!  And tomorrow, we join together in prayer.

Positive changes are in the works for next year’s BJ-JCOGS partnership, but what we do know for now is that the next generation is in good hands on this collaborative journey.

Tihiyu bri’im, stay safe, be well.  Shabbat Shalom,

Rabbi David

Some information due to the extreme cold:

• United Community Church of Morrisville is hosting a Saturday Breakfast on Us at the same time as their usual weekday breakfasts, 7-9am. Any community member can come to the church for breakfast in a warm place. 
• Lamoille Community House has open beds as of this time: 802-521-7943
• Local people in need of finding a warm spot to spend some time can call 211 or the Lamoille sheriff: 802-888-3502
• State listing of warming shelters.
• Stowe Free Library is a designated warming shelter during business hours: 9:30am-5:30pm this Friday and 10am-3pm this Saturday
• Morristown Centennial Library is open regular hours: 9:30-5:30 Friday, 9-2 Saturday

Announcements and Upcoming Events

Dear JCOGS family,

In case you missed Rabbi David's email last week, please join us tommorow night for the International Holocaust Rememberance Event in honor of Erika Hecht z"l.
Shabbat Shalom!

Erika Hecht z”l, child survivor of the Holocaust and founding member of JCOGS, recalls a story of her wartime experience in her memoir Don’t Ask My Name: “One night, (my mother) wakes me and asks me my name. “Erika Bleier,” I say. “What did you say?” she asks.  Her voice is dangerous.  “Erika Bleier,” I repeat fearfully, realizing too late that I made a mistake.  Even to (my mother) I was supposed to lie and use my fake name, Erika Bankuti.  Her anger boils over.  (My mother) hits me with her open palm across my face and hisses through clenched teeth, “If you ever make that mistake again, we will be killed!” I never utter that name again.”  

Countless times through her childhood, Erika was moments away from her own death, and that of her immediate family, amidst bombs crashing down on either side, bullets inches away, living for days on end without food, while hiding in exile as a refugee between two warring armies.  

So harrowing was Erika’s experience through the Holocaust, even her name, the very root of her identity, was taken from her.  She was stripped of the fullness of her humanity.  That was the Nazi ideology and terror: to strip away the humanity of the Jews and the many others, to attempt to take away dignity, and to ultimately, take away their very lives.

This past Wednesday, I had the privilege of attending a press conference at the Vermont Statehouse where the Vermont Agency of Education and the Vermont Holocaust Memorial announced the launch of the state’s first Holocaust Education Week.  Our JCOGS member and president and founder of the Vermont Holocaust Memorial, Debbie Steinerman, said there: “It's timelier than ever, considering increasing displays of antisemitism in Vermont and across the country.”  

I experienced chills when one of the speakers at the press conference expressed dismay when an adult Vermonter, born and raised here, shared with the speaker how that person had never heard of the Holocaust before.  Once again, the time is now to educate the next generation about the atrocities that took place then, not only to set the historical record straight, but because the early signs of what brought about the Holocaust—increasing antisemitism, racism, and division, the assault on truth, and the erosion of democratic values and safeguards—are in clear and present danger in 2023.  This online, statewide program runs January 23-27 and is meant to teach seventh through 12th grade students about the history of the Holocaust, and includes presentations by Holocaust survivors, as well as children and grandchildren of survivors. 

At our Jewish Community of Greater Stowe, we have partnered with the Hecht family, East End Press, and the Vermont Holocaust Memorial, giving out complimentary copies of Erika Hecht’s haunting memoir, as we host a book reading on January 28 at 5:30PM, in person and online, followed by a lite reception.

Marion Hecht, Erika’s daughter, will read and discuss excerpts of the recently published memoir.  Copies of the memoir will be available that evening, as well as during JCOGS office hours (M, W, Th 10-3, F 12-5) and during upcoming events and services.  In this way, we hope to lift up Erika’s memory as she would have wanted, while remembering the heroic acts and righteous Jews and gentiles that preserved her life and other survivors.

January 27 marks United Nations-designated International Holocaust Remembrance Day.

The implications of forgetting are near our doorstep.  Will you do your part to never forget?

Tihiyu bri’im, be well.  Shabbat Shalom,

Rabbi David

Announcements and Upcoming Events

Dear JCOGS family,

This long weekend’s Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s federal holiday takes on particular significance this year for me and our family.  This past November, we travelled to Atlanta to celebrate our friends’ daughter’s Bat Mitzvah, the city that is MLK’s birthplace.

Crossing faith lines on the Sunday morning of our trip, we took our family of five to Ebenezer Baptist Church.  Ebenezer was MLK’s church.  Both his grandfather and father were the pastors of the church.  He was raised in that parsonage home down the street.  MLK became the co-pastor with his father until his assassination in 1968.  

That particular Sunday, it was just days after the November national election, and the senior pastor since 2005 has been Senator Reverend Raphael Warnock.  The election was just set towards a run off, a historic moment in the life of the nation, as the first Deep South state with two Black candidates representing the major parties vying for a seat in the Senate.

I have always been drawn to MLK’s legacy: his fight for civil rights for Black Americans; his soaring rhetoric and his ability to capture the world’s attention on issues of human rights, jobs, dignity, opportunity, freedom, war, and beyond; and his willingness to put everything on the line, including his own life, for the sake of the cause.  As a fellow clergy myself, I am motivated by his use of religion to pursue what is good and proper in humankind’s actions.

But even with this inspiration from MLK and the historic moment we were in this past November, I still could not have anticipated the impact it would have on me to go to Ebenezer Baptist Church at that moment in time.  It was at Ebenezer that I had one of the most profound spiritual experiences of my life.

A few days prior, when we told our eldest son Adar that we were going to Ebenezer, he spent the next days wrestling and wondering how we would fit in there.  I believe he felt awkward or anxious walking into a church where the colour of our skin differentiated us, and where a different religion, not ours, was being practiced.  If I was being as honest as my son was, I would say I too was feeling those same feelings.  What were we doing there?  What purpose did it serve?

Essentially, these words are a reflection on the questions Adar was asking himself—how we who are not Black Americans fit into their lives and their experiences—questions that each of us must ask ourselves.

The day prior, that Saturday morning, we went to celebrate the Bat Mitzvah at The Temple, the flagship Atlanta Reform synagogue.  Ebenezar and The Temple have a deep seated relationship going back generations and until today.  

There, amidst great celebration and joy with our friends, we also learned about how on October 12, 1958, “white supremacists calling themselves the ‘Confederate Underground’ exploded a bomb made of fifty sticks of dynamite at the entrance,” causing great structural damage, “but thankfully resulted in no injuries or deaths.  The bombing was in retaliation for the outspoken activism of The Temple’s senior rabbi, Jacob Rothschild, (who) from the earliest days of his tenure, criticized segregation and advocated for racial equality.”
(The Temple website)

This terrible story reminded me of the Pittsburgh attack on the Tree of Life Congregation in 2018, which was targeted because of its work with immigrants.

As we walked into Ebenezer Baptist Church the next day, we were greeted warmly by the ushers.  Some 1000 or more parishioners gathered.  The band began playing.

And I began to cry.  No, that is not accurate.  I began to weep.  Such tears came forth from the deepest place within.

It began, for me, with the music.  The soaring music.  What soul!  What depth.  As a musician and service leader, I was just so moved by the experience of joyful togetherness shared by all.

And it was the people.  The exuberance and emotion spilled forth.  People were singing, hands were in the air, the delight and smiles spread across people’s faces.  

The humanity of it all caught me off guard.  The beautiful expression of unbridled life, lives being soulfully led, triggered in me emotions of faith and spiritual connection I didn’t know existed within me in that way.

Through the passion and love shared, in that historic moment, and through my own tears, beyond an intellectual knowing, I began to understand inside myself just how rooted the Black American experience is at the very foundation of this nation.  But more, how the Black American story and experience—past and present—is at the very moral and spiritual centre of this great country.

Yes, many peoples have come to these great lands.  Yes, let us celebrate our diversity of stories and experiences, let us lift up the stories of the many who immigrated here, including the many who have struggled and overcame challenges, including my own Jewish people.  In the plurality, we are one.  And let us not forget the centrality of the Indigenous experience.

Still, at that moment, I first understood the power of reckoning with the American past and present racism as a catalyst for positive change on so many issues in our society today.  Our moral compass is tied to our capacity to reflect on slavery, Jim Crow, mass incarceration, and all of the lingering aftereffects of racism’s origins to this today.

But much more, I understood, through the joyful, musical, soulful, uplifting presence of that congregation that in spite of the odds against a people, their triumph has become the core of the great backbone of American life and morality.

This was most true when Reverend Warnock began preaching.  His speech was called “Shake it Off.”  He preached about how we can shake off continuous, ongoing adversities and rise up above them.  How Black America has done that through generations.  How the Black church has done so since its founding, turning a tool of oppression against it into a liberatory tool of power in the struggle.

During the reverend’s sermon, the woman directly behind me kept calling out: “Speak it preacher!”  “Amens” were being heard from all corners as the preacher spoke.  And what struck me so clearly was the joy in the room.  The joy in spite of the struggle.  The joy in spite of oppression.  The joy for life and liberation.

It resonated so deeply for me because in such different ways, it reminded me of the Jewish experience of survival and how we have thrived with abundant joy, in spite of continuous, ongoing adversities.

In the Torah portions of this season, we read from the book of Exodus, and the long march from slavery to freedom.  Despite countless acts of adversity—the building of great pyramids, the hardships of increased manual labour, children being torn from their parents only to be murdered—and yet, our Israelite ancestors prevailed.

Martin Luther King Jr. famously wrote in his 1963 Letter from a Birmingham Jail that “freedom is never given voluntarily by the oppressor; it must be demanded by the oppressed.”  

Pharaoh never gave us our freedom voluntarily.  Our ancestors demanded it of him.  The midwives who refused to kill the baby boys.  Miriam who cared for her brother Moses’ well-being.  Pharaoh’s daughter who smuggled baby Moses into the palace.  And all of the Israelites who, “groaning under their bondage, cried out, and their cry for help from bondage rose up to G-d.” (Exodus 2:23)

This is a story, perhaps the story, that has most resonated for Jews across millenia and for Black Christians since the time of American slavery.  It is a story that speaks to the core of our being, the core of humanity, because we draw strength that we shall not be pacified by bondage, but instead we shall rise up again and again against oppression.

Mahatma Gandhi, one of the great non-violent revolutionaries that MLK drew his inspiration from, once said: “The true measure of any society can be found in how it treats its most vulnerable members.”

Everytime that we consider how we can better treat the most vulnerable members of our society, we must draw from the humanity that grows out of the oppressed who seek liberation, we must draw from the story of our Exodus from Egypt, from the Black American experience and their humanity and triumph, and from all of the stories and experiences of those most marginalized.

In centring their stories as our stories, our moral compass grows from a core that cannot be shaken, and from a reckoning that has come to pass.
But liberation grows especially from a joy, faith, and exuberant love that, in spite of countless injustices, we know we shall reach the promised land.

Can I get an Amen to that?

ANNOUNCEMENTS & UPCOMING EVENTS

Dear Hartman Foundations for a Thoughtful Judaism cohort bet (two),

Thank you for the insightful class on Monday.
​​​​​​​
I am following up with two matters:

1. Our next class is rescheduled for January 30 (instead of the 23rd), as always 5:45-7:30PM.  Please mark your calendars now.  We will be covering the topic of the Ethics of Rebuke.  Additional materials to follow.
2. At our last class, we did not get to discuss the article about the Ken Burns documentary.  I hope you will take the time to read this piece about it if you have not yet.  Below are some thoughts, questions, and an excerpt.

Rabbi David

Materials can be found HERE.

ZOOM LINK FOR THE SESSION:
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/8022531800?pwd=rp4EY4qVuaEBp26bbN32j46oB3sJcE.1

Meeting ID: 802 253 1800
Passcode: jcogs

UNIT 2 INTERPERSONAL ETHICS
● Bystander Effect - Jan 9, 2023
● Ethics of Rebuke - Jan 30, 2023

UNIT 3 MAKING MORAL CHOICES
● The Moral Imperative Approach - Feb 13, 2023
● The Moral Concern Approach - March 13, 2023
● Managing Tensions + Conclusion - March 27, 2023

FINAL LEARNING CELEBRATION
● Friday, May 26, 6-8:30PM Shabbat-Shavuot Services + Dinner + Shavuot Learning with JCOGS participants of Foundations for a Thoughtful Judaism

The new Ken Burns documentary about America and the Holocaust speaks directly to the question of the ethical responsibilities of bystanders. This is a great summary and analysis if you haven’t seen it yet.

https://www.newyorker.com/culture/cultural-comment/ken-burns-turns-his-lens-on-the-american-response-to-the-holocaust


It’s not entirely comfortable to sit with America’s response to the unfolding tragedy in Europe, not only when we consider the American Jewish community, but when we consider the narrative of American exceptionalism that is inextricably bound up with the American Jewish story.  This is a complex case where it may be hard for biblical texts to speak to our contemporary realities.  Are Bystander Ethics only relevant to individuals when they find a lost object?  Or, is there such a thing as social and political Bystander Ethics that implicate members of a said society. This has deep implications today when it comes to geopolitics and, closer to home, violence and social ills in various parts of America. We know so much because of social media and technology. Does this turn us into bystanders?  
 
An excerpt from the New Yorker article cited above – 
“This new documentary lays bare how the United States government was mired by domestic politics during the war and how the American public was largely indifferent to the Holocaust at the time. It sets that indifference against a homegrown tradition of racism, tracing the xenophobia of the nineteen-twenties right up to the Charlottesville “Unite the Right” rally, in 2017, and the January 6, 2021, storming of the Capitol. If Holocaust memory seems well established today, the film nevertheless arrives at a moment when the nature—and the future—of historical truth, about the Holocaust but also about everything else, is in acute jeopardy.

Dear Hartman Foundations for a Thoughtful Judaism cohort bet (two),

We begin again in 2023!  We meet on Zoom this coming Monday, January 9, 5:45-7:30PM, and the topic is: The Bystander Effect (Unit 2, Class 1).

There are lots of materials to review HERE:

1. There are multiple, very rich and contemporary additional reading materials under “Class 4” for Monday’s class.
2. The podcasts can and should be listened to at your leisure.  They are compelling takes on some of the main issues we are talking about.  There is no timeline to listening to them.

Below you will find the Zoom link, as well as all of the sessions and the final learning celebration through the end of our learning.  Please mark your calendars now so you don’t miss a thing!

Rabbi David

ZOOM LINK FOR THE SESSION:
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/8022531800?pwd=rp4EY4qVuaEBp26bbN32j46oB3sJcE.1

​​​​​​​
Meeting ID: 802 253 1800
Passcode: jcogs

UNIT 2 INTERPERSONAL ETHICS
● Bystander Effect - Jan 9, 2023
● Ethics of Rebuke - Jan 23, 2023

UNIT 3 MAKING MORAL CHOICES
● The Moral Imperative Approach - Feb 13, 2023
● The Moral Concern Approach - March 13, 2023
● Managing Tensions + Conclusion - March 27, 2023

FINAL LEARNING CELEBRATION
● Friday, May 26, 6-8:30PM Shabbat-Shavuot Services + Dinner + Shavuot
Learning with JCOGS participants of Foundations for a Thoughtful Judaism

Dear JCOGS family,

The time to sing has come.  

A week from tonight, we launch a Shabbat and weekend of deep and joyous singing.  JCOGS is a part of a Vermont-wide series of events in Stowe and Burlington with very special guest Batya Levine.

Batya Levine is a communal song leader, musician, shaliach tzibur (Jewish prayer leader) and cultural organizer.  In short, she is an incredible force of deep spirit and song.  Here’s one of her beautiful pieces, or you can listen to her 2020 album Karov on any streaming service.

So, mark your calendars.  On Sunday, December 18 at 4:30PM there’s a unique event to bring the first night of Hanukkah alive.  We will begin by dedicating our new outdoor Large Menorah with songs and lighting.  And with our special guest, Batya Levine, we will use our voices and the practice of communal singing to explore the gifts of both darkness and light, as we make our way into the first moments of Hanukkah together.  Come for the singing and stay for the latkes and sufganiyot/donuts!

Other events next Shabbat include:

• Friday, December 16, 6:30PM: Batya and local clergy, including myself, will lead a service at Temple Sinai in South Burlington, followed by a kiddush.  The service will also be available online.  There will be no service in the JCOGS building.
• Saturday, December 17, 7PM: A concert with Batya Levine at Ohavi Zedek.

Tihiyu bri’im, be well. Shabbat Shalom,

Rabbi David

Announcements and Upcoming Events

Dear JCOGS family,

I am sad to say that we are living in a time when Jewish hatred is spilling forth every day in the United States and beyond.  We are dealing with an increased trend of those who spew, support, or simply ignore the antisemitism of this moment.  Prominent athletes, politicians, celebrities, and the broader media are espousing anti-Jewish tropes.  We as Jews in North America are safer and more secure in the recent past than we have been in other times in our history.  However, we have always known that antisemitism is, at the very least, part of the undercurrent of our society, and it is now predictably growing more explicit in this time of uncertainty and tumult.

Perhaps most chilling and dangerous in this growing trend is that those who espouse antisemitism have tremendous platforms of prominence, power, and influence.  They normalize and mainstream anti-Jewish sentiment.

The antisemitism of these past days, months, and years only shows that—once again—we cannot grow complacent.

The story of Hanukkah is the story of a Greco-Roman kingdom that takes over and assaults the Jews and Jewishness of their time, which inspires the heroic defense by the Maccabees of the Jewish people and our values.  The Maccabees stood strong on the principles of their commitment to a vibrant Jewish presence.  And when they won back our people’s freedom, the first thing they did was reassert our Jewish ways, beginning with the Temple and the miraculous oil that burned in the Temple’s sacred Menorah.

Like the Maccabees, we must strengthen our resolve against the forces of antisemitism, and all forms of racism and bigotry.  And we also must show and grow our Jewish values and presence.

Just as the Maccabees fought to uphold the Jewish way of life, let your presence be known.  Let our communal presence be known.

This Hanukkah, JCOGS is showing our joyful Jewish presence across north-central Vermont.  Consider how you will show up in community to show your solidarity and your joy for Judaism.  

Join us in Stowe as we dedicate and light our own large Menorah on the first night of Hanukkah, with guest singer Batya Levine.  Jump in on the action in our Iron Chef Hanukkah competition or at our Shabbat Hanukkah.  Come to the North East Kingdom for a Hanukkah party, Greensboro-style.  Skate with us at Hanukkah on Ice in Waterbury with the Mad River Valley Jewish Community.

We will celebrate the lights that our people shine.  We will stand up and be counted.  We will show that among all good people of conscience, we belong here in safety.

Tihiyu bri’im, be well.  Shabbat Shalom,

Rabbi David

Announcements and Upcoming Events

Dear Hartman Foundations for a Thoughtful Judaism Cohort,

The booklets are ready! You can pick them up in the main office.

If you are unable to make it to JCOGS let me know and we will mail one to you today.

Please reply to this email with your mailing address or prefferred pickup time.

SIncerely,

Alison Kaminer