RE: A nice surprise?

[Trudi Goodman <goobietheg...>]

  Oh Reyzl that's such a wonderful story!
    Good Shabbos!!!
      Trudi The G


>From: Reyzl Kalifowicz-Waletzky <reyzl (at) flash(dot)net>
>Reply-To: jewish-music (at) shamash(dot)org
>To: World music from a Jewish slant <jewish-music (at) shamash(dot)org>
>Subject: RE: A nice surprise?
>Date: Thu, 3 May 2001 15:30:26 -0400
>
>My survivor parents also belonged to a traditional synagogue - officially
>Conservative, but with an Orthodox service.  It was a congregation of
>Holocaust survivors with mostly Yiddish dialogue and where they strove to
>do everything "like it was at home".   Everything but the seating, that is.
>   There were 3 sections in the synagogue.  At the very front, there were
>perpendicular rows with shomer-shabes women sitting on one side and
>shomer-shabes men sitting facing them on the other side.   Each of these 2
>groupings felt totally connected to the goings on, because between them was
>the shtender (=the table upon which the Torah is places and the cantor
>prays).  In the middle of the synagogue, there was a section of horizontal
>rows of men sitting on one side and women sitting on the other, with a
>small mekhitsa between them.   Toward the back, there was mixed sitting and
>where my mother liked to sit.  My father, a shul regular, sat with his male
>buddies, but sometimes moved to the mixed section to sit with my husband
>and I when we came to his shul.  With all these choices, everybody was
>happy.  We ourselves belong for many, many years to an egalitarian
>Conservative synagogue that is traditional in every sense.  Families sit
>together which is what I like.  Until 2 years ago, we had a woman rabbi for
>7 years.
>
> >The first woman to be called up was our oldest woman, Mrs. Dick, who had
>been a >member for over 30 years, since she came here from Argentina.  We
>were so proud, >but you should have seen her face beaming.
>
>How wonderful!  I can see her very well.  Someone should write this up and
>send it everywhere so that everyone knows how wonderful and proud women
>feel about participating.
>People should know that such synagogues exist.
>
>I myself really had no questions about your shul.  Once I read how the
>husbands beamed when the wives were on the beam, nothing else had to be
>said.  That is how it should be.
>
>
>Reyzl
>
>
>----------
>From:  Lori Cahan-Simon [SMTP:l_cahan (at) staff(dot)chuh(dot)org]
>Sent:  Tuesday, May 01, 2001 6:17 PM
>To:  World music from a Jewish slant
>Subject:  A nice surprise?
>
>Tayere Reyzl,
>
>Thanks for your view to our list.  I thought you'd like to know about
>our little shul.  We used to be a Modern Orthodox congregation, begun
>in the 1930s or 40s by the highly respected Rabbi Genuth, z"l, who
>started it with the thought that there were those who wished to be
>Orthodox but not live with a mekhitsa, amongst other things.  I will
>never forget the summer when we voted to allow women to come up to the
>bima for aliyot, etc.  The first woman to be called up was our oldest
>woman, Mrs. Dick, who had been a member for over 30 years, since she
>came here from Argentina.  We were so proud, but you should have seen
>her face beaming.  There were women and men who chose to sit on
>opposite sides of the shul and those who chose to sit together.
>Totally anyone's choice, with no looks or comments from anybody.  That's
>the way the shul was set up.
>
>When I joined, about 6 years ago, I was just about the youngest person
>there and my Nathan was an infant, usually the only child there.  He
>had a whole shul full of grandparents to spoil him!  We existed as such
>until about 3 years ago when we finally could not get a minyan every
>week.  We had assets but no congregation, so started "dating" a group
>of people, who did not want to move east with the rest of their
>Conservative shul (Rabbi Michael Hecht) and build a new building where
>they would have to drive to or move to a new home.  They had a
>congregation, but no assets.  We sold our building and are banking our
>assets to buy a building at some point.  Meanwhile we are saving alot
>by paying minimal rent to someone else.  We felt we were compatible and
>got "married".
>
>We use our Orthodox prayerbooks and have our Orthodox rabbi (Moshe Adler
>is wonderful, gentle, generous, learned) and women are an important part
>of our shul, but no one notices, really.  It's just a natural thing to
>all of us.  We just all do what we need to do.  It is a lot of work to
>keep it going, but well worth it.  The people are wonderful, interesting
>humans.  Some of our congregants are teachers at the Cleveland College
>of Jewish Studies.  We have children's services and learner's services
>twice a month, so that people who don't know or understand some aspect
>of the service have a chance to learn more and be comfortable.  Our
>members come to us with all level of knowledge, but the hallmark is that
>all of us are constantly striving to know more.  We sponsor many
>learning opportunities and bring in speakers (lovely "lunch 'n' learns"
>after shul on Shabbes) and help to sponsor other local learning
>events.  I love my shul and am proud to be in it.  We call ourselves
>"Traditional Egalitarian" and we truly are.  We have about 90 families
>now and there is such a heymish feel, it is a pleasure to come and feel
>all the welcoming smiles from all.  One aspect I love is that there are
>so many children, our future.
>
>Just thought you'd like to know our history.
>
>Mit frayndshaft,
>Lorele
>
>
>Reyzl Kalifowicz-Waletzky wrote:
>
> > Robert,
> >
> > Your comments are most unfair and very disappointing.  They are also
> > insulting to everyone here, not just Shirona.  Anyone walking into
>this
> > extremely rare situation - an egalitarian Orthodox congregation - an
> > oxymoron if there ever was one, would be watching the men to see if
>they
> > are uncomfortable.  One would want to know:
> >
> > if the men felt imposed upon by flaming feminists who somehow got
>control
> > because they were the majority;
> > if the men felt imposed upon by a rebellious, self-destructive rabbi;
> > if they were angry because power has been usurped from them;
> > if they felt guilty about abandoning halakha;
> > if they felt guilty about being ostracised by the rest of the Orthodox
>
> > world;
> > if they were regretful about such radical move, etc., etc.
> >
> > I have never even heard of such a synagogue existing anywhere in the
>world
> > and I do follow these things.  I only know of a small (20-30 people)
> > Brooklyn egalitarian havurah which is mostly Orthodox, and I imagine
>that
> > there are other havuroth around the country who are egalitarian
>Orthodox.
> >   But a havurah is not an official synagogue congregation with a
>building
> > and a sisterhood.  If this Rabbi Moshe Adler is the same Rabbi Moshe
>Adler,
> > formerly of Los Angeles and husband of feminist theologian Rachel
>Adler,
> > then I understand how such a thing came about.
> >
> > But Shirona does not deserve your comments.  Neither would any other
> > reporter, male or female, describing such a rare experience.
>Actually,
> > this report told us that it's meshiakh's tsaytn [=time of the
>mashiakh].
> >
> > Now, this is totally an aside comment.  I have been too busy with my
>sick
> > knee and physical therapy to get to this.
> > I went on the web and listened to Shirona singing a few weeks ago and
>found
> > her truly, truly wonderful.  I am usually disappointed with current
> > liturgical recordings, because it usually sounds so derivative, e.g.,
>I see
> > no reason to set a tfila today to '60's folk rock, or hip-hop, or pop
> > gospel (unless one was trying to do an interfaith event).  But Shirona
>was
> > a most pleasant surprise.  What a lovely contribution to the Jewish
>world
> > and Jewish recordings!  A yasher koyakh across the board, Shirona.
>Once I
> > listened to you I really got mad at the people who cancelled out on
>you.
> >  It was totally their loss.  Too bad for the Orthodox brother in law
>who
> > didn't know what he was missing.
> >
> > Reyzl
> >
> > -------------------------------------------------------------
> >
> > >From: "Robert Cohen" <rlcm17 (at) hotmail(dot)com>
> > >Reply-To: jewish-music (at) shamash(dot)org
> > >To: World music from a Jewish slant <jewish-music (at) shamash(dot)org>
> > >Subject: Re: A nice surprise?
> > >Date: Sun, 29 Apr 2001 23:02:43
> > >
> > >>For me it was a spiritual and emotional experience - seeing "frum"
>women
> > >>taking an active and awe inspiring roll in the service, as equal to
>men
> > >>and
> > >>equal before G-d.  (I was watching the men during the portions where
>
> > women
> > >>were leading, and they  seemed very comfortable. The husbands whose
>wives
> > >>were leading looked very proud.   It was all very natural...
> > >
> > >
> > >I have much respect and regard for Moshe Adler and am very interested
>to
> > >hear that he's overseeing a traditional but egalitarian service.  I
>would
> > >automatically incline to assume that he's coming from a thoughtful
>and
> > >serious place in doing so.
> > >
> > >Having said that:  Between the lines-or, actually, *in* the lines-of
>this
> > >posting are flashing yellow lights indicating some of the potential
> > >problems, perhaps, of such services.  *Why,* for example, was our
> > >correspondent "watching the men during the portions where women were
> > >leading"-or at any time, for that matter?  One of the reasons why
>many
> > >women that I've talked to about this, or whose thoughts I've read
>about
> > >from >other's writing and interviewing, *like* a separate space from
>men
> > is so >they *won't* be watched during davening-and I can't imagine
>that
> > the men >being watched here benefited from being watched-"spiritually
> > and >emotionally," as our correspondent puts it.  Nor do I imagine
>that
> > the >women >at the service would have experienced a deeper kavannah in
>
> > their davening >if >*they* were being watched.
> > >
> > >It's nice that the husbands of women leading the service "looked very
>
> > >proud"-though, again, nobody should have been noticing-but that
>suggests,
> > >again, *less* focus and intensity in prayer (or contemplation, study,
>
> > >etc.),
> > >which is what a synagogue service should be about.  This service
>comes
> > off,
> > >at least in this account, as more of a show-and-tell entertainment
> > >production-that's where one is appropriately "proud" of one's
> > >spouse's/children's/friend's home run, aria, etc.  Parents, etc.,
>can't
> > >help
> > >but kvell over their children's bar/bat mitzvah-uncles too.  But that
>
> > >should be the exception-and, indeed, in the synagogues, in my
>experience,
> > >where bar mitzvah is taken maximally seriously as a religious coming
>of
> > age
> > >and not a pageant-with-party, even parents' kvelling is expressed in
>a
> > very
> > >different way from at Little League.
> > >
> > >
> > >>Later I spent a good half hour talking with the Rabbi,  Moshe
> > >>Adler.  We should all be blessed with such Rabbis - open minded,
> > >>spiritual,
> > >>a man who is in touch with his own conscience - and has the guts to
>act
> > on
> > >>his beliefs.  Even in the face of a hostile "peer environment".
> > >
> > >
> > >I have, as I said, nothing but regard for Moshe Adler.  But Shirona
>is,
> > >sadly, again so wrapped up in self-righteousness that she imagines
>that
> > >only
> > >those who agree with her are "in touch with [their] own conscience"
>or
> > >"[have] the guts to act on [their] beliefs."  It's a supremely
>arrogant
> > and
> > >ugly notion-but Shirona seems incapable of recognizing that a rabbi
>who
> > >*doesn't* choose to go in this-i.e., her preferred-direction may be
>just
> > >as in touch with his conscience-and perhaps showing even more guts,
>since
> > >he has to defy, among other things, the limitless self-righteousness
>of
> > >some
> > >(but not all) Jewish (and non-Jewish, for that matter) feminists.
> > >
> > >
> > >I admire Rabbi Adler, among other reasons, because, in my limited
> > >experience, he *doesn't* convey this kind of arrogant
> > >self-righteousness-but, rather, an earnest humility (one of the
> > >requirements of which is the knowledge and belief that one may be
>wrong)
> > in
> > >seeking to hear what G*d wants of him at any given moment and to
>serve G*d
> > >as best he can.
> > >
> > >It's an example worth emulating.
> > >
> > >--Robert Cohen
> > >
> > >
>
>
>

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