Why Family Camp?

There are many reasons why Temple Judea allocates five Sunday mornings as Family Camp days - days where experiential learning is designed for the entire family to share together.


Parents are their children's primary Jewish role models and Jewish educators. Studies have shown that today's youth are strongly influenced by their family's attitudes and beliefs regarding religion and culture. More will be learned from parental attitudes about Jewish learning than from the most creative and engaging teachers and curriculum. At Family Camp you are handed the opportunity to actively participating in your child's Jewish learning, communicate the importance Judaism has in your life, and show that Jewish belonging is lifelong. For example, yesterday's "Torah Selfies" created a visual memory for the families who were here of their connection to one another, to the clergy of Temple Judea, and most importantly, to the values of the Torah.



Family Camp is a chance for families to stop and have important conversations with each other. In the words of clinical psychologist Dr. Betsy Stone, "much of the conversation within families is sadly focused on scheduling and arrangements, and Judaism can provide a framework for families to talk about important topics - which can create greater intimacy within families." (http://ejewishphilanthropy.com/a-new-model-for-family-education/) For example, in this week's Torah board game, one question posed to families was: God told Abraham to leave his home and go to a place which God would show to him. Imagine you were going on a similar sort of adventure, name three things you would want to bring with you and why? While answers to this question can be quick and silly, ideally parents will seize this opportunity to connect with their children and inquire about the things that the kids truly believe are important. Would you bring things with you or are there people you would want with you on this journey. This question prompt also provides parents the opportunity to explicitly share their values and beliefs with their children. Yes, I love playing golf, but bringing your baby book would be more important than my golf clubs.


Family camp is also important for building community within our congregational family. Many children who come on Sunday mornings have been coming for many years and are re-connecting with friends from early childhood. Just as many families are new to Temple Judea, new to Miami, and sometimes new to Judaism. Temple Judea prides itself on being a welcoming community. Family camp ensures that every family who has children in our program is introduced to other families with whom they will hopefully build connections. Several years ago, we received the following feedback anonymously: There aren't many opportunities for non preschool families to connect with other families. The community is pretty set and we haven't really socialized with anyone besides the wonderful staff whose job it is to connect with us. Family Camp is way to make sure that there are opportunities for these connections to develop. Temple Judea is a sacred community and we want every family in our congregation to feel that they are a part of this.


With 5,000 years of Jewish history, teachings, values, and customs, there is thought and intentionality put into every decision about how to spend the sacred and limited time that we have with your children. Doing Jewish together as a family is one of the most important ways that we can build Jewish and ethical leaders of the next generation. We continue to strive to make the time you spend at Temple meaningful and valuable for you and your child. Thank you for choosing to spend your Sunday morning with us.

A "Virtual" Kol Nidrei

The observance of Yom Kippur began today at sundown. This day is referred to as the Shabbat of all Shabbats - it is the holiest day of the Jewish calendar. Perhaps the most identifiable soundtrack of this day is Kol Nidrei - a solemn prayer annulling vows that we have made and will make. It reminds us of the many times we missed the mark. And the many times we will miss the mark again.

Tonight I did something I have never done before...I didn't go to the synagogue. But I was able to still "be" at services. Over a year ago Temple Judea began live streaming all of our worship services. I wanted to be in the congregation, but tonight I couldn't. I was emotionally raw from an intense ten day period of reflection on all that was in the last year. I wanted time to be alone. To just be.

So I attended services through our website...and it was amazing.

1) The music - since I was by myself I turned my speakers as high as they could go. I closed my eyes. I felt the music. I wasn't worried about what anyone else thought. I was able to just experience this amazing sound. I allowed tears to form and didn't care. I cheered when an all-time favorite tune was played. I appreciated the musical gifts that were brought to this service in a way I never had before.

2) The sermon - again, I was by myself. The only person on the screen was the rabbi. I was able to feel like he was addressing me personally, not the entire congregation. I felt that a message was being given directly to me. And so I listened closer. And I listened deeper.

3) The temperature - it may seem silly, but I know how many comments our executive director receives about the sanctuary being too hot or too cold. During the service I did get cold. I got up and got a blanket. Problem solved!

Of course, it wasn't the same as being there. I couldn't share my erudite observations with a neighbor (though I thought about a twitter feed for next year). I didn't have anyone to hug and wish "shanah tovah" a happy new year. I experienced Kol Nidrei personally and with my spiritual leaders, but not with my community.

So did it replace the experience I would have had at synagogue? - definitely not! Was it a profoundly spiritual evening? - Absolutely!!

#BlogElul 28 Responsibility to me...

The collective feeling is that this past week was like one REALLY long day! It was all about finishing things, or preparing things, or taking care of everything that needed to be done before Rosh Hashanah.

It's really important to me that I take responsibility for anything I have told others I would do. Which is why on Thursday, two "work days" before Rosh Hashanah, I spent the day organizing the Judaica museum...which I had assured our executive director I would do by the holidays.

It was SO important to me to get this done that I put everything else on the back burner for the day.

Interestingly, I don't feel the same obligation to myself. I make promises. I make plans. And I let myself down. In the year ahead I hope to take greater responsibility to turn my intentions in to actions and make sure my actions represent my intentions!

Midnight in the Garden of Good & Evil #BlogElul 27

Good & Evil

opposites

like

Black & White

Life & Death

The language of the High Holy Days is full of such opposites that seem to present two choices, of which one is right.

We want to be written in the Book of Life...

We want to choose life that we may live...

But a lot of this period is about appreciating the grey. 

We make mistakes. We learn. We repent. We return.

We all do good - we all do evil.

In the year ahead, may the good in us - and in the world - far outweigh the evil!

Readiness - Am I Ready? #BlogElul 26

The URJ Biennial is an event every two years that brings together members of Reform Judaism from all over the world. I LOVE attending these events for two reasons. One is the people - having grown up in the Reform Movement, these gatherings are a "this is your life" event where I can connect with friends, colleagues, and teachers from childhood to today.

The second reason is the music - I love singing with hundreds of others. I love hearing songs that I grew up singing at camp. And I love hearing the new music from up-and-coming artists. This year, one of those artists was Noah Aronson. I was moved by his song "Am I Awake" that leads in to the Barechu. I believe the lyrics to "Am I Awake" speak to the readiness which we need to bring to the High Holy Days:

Am I awake? Am I prepared?
Are you listening? To my prayer?
Can you hear my voice? Can you understand?
Am I awake? Am I prepared

You can purchase "Am I Awake" on iTunes!

Jonah makes a little more sense #BlogElul 25

Since I began working at Temple Judea I have had the honor of reading the story of Jonah on Yom Kippur afternoon. It's a weird book.

After all, the "hero" of the book is a whiny prophet who disapproves of the fact that God is forgiving of those who truly repent. It's hard to hear that as an "inspirational" message as the day is growing long and the gates are closing...

Temple Judea has had the pleasure of having Scott Fried with us as we prepare for the High Holy Days. In a recent talk on bullying - he made a very important point. Often, the person who is the "perpetrator" of bullying is doing it because they see something in their target that they dislike in themselves.

This idea has given me new compassion for Jonah - after all, it isn't easy to forgive others who have wronged us. Perhaps Jonah was mad at God, because he wished that he could forgive in the same way that God could.

The gift is that we can all be God-like by doing the hard task of letting go of hurts and pains, whether they were caused intentionally or not. May we all let go - and not carry those pains in to a new year!

#BlogElul 24 Giving

BROKEN   DREAMS

As children bring their broken toys
With tears for us to mend,
I brought my broken dreams to God
Because He was my Friend.
But then instead of leaving Him
in peace to work alone,
I hung around and tried to help
With ways that were my own.
At last I snatched them back and cried,
"How can You be so slow?""My child," He said, "What could I do?
You never did let go."

Giving is about presenting to another and it is about letting go - creating space for another, and perhaps creating space for God.