Homemade Pop-Tarts for Davening on the Tayelet!

Posted on May 28, 2013 by Aliza Geller

I made homemade pop-tarts for tomorrow’s Community Davening on the Tayelet!

click here for info about tomorrow's davening

We will begin at 5:05am. Sunrise is at 5:36.

Our schedule for the morning is:

Birkot HaShahar and Psukei led by Mike Nash and Laura Marder with simultaneous yoga led by Emly (Yoga mats will be provided. Bring your own if you have).

Traditional shacharit led by Adam Masser, with added chanting of Yotzer Ohr led by Laurie

Extended Shmoneh Esrei, leaving time for meditation, breath awareness,* etc.

After concluding prayers, Gabby will lead us in a musical Oseh Shalom

*A non-coercive suggestion: James suggests one breath per word of the Amidah.

The plan is to have all davening done by 6:30, followed by singing (bring musical instruments if you have them!).

We will provide a light breakfast and encourage everyone to bring coffee to drink and snacks to share, all to be enjoyed while listening to a shiur from our own Rav Meir.

Directions to the Tayelet:
The tayelet is on Daniel Yanovsky (which is a continuation of Yehuda) just after it crosses Beitar. Go down the stairs from the Daniel Yanovsky entrance (next to the bathrooms) to the tayelet to the big canopy overlooking the old city.

Homemade dulche de leche + chocolate pop-tarts (gluten free not pictured)

Pastry
2 cups (8 1/2 ounces) all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup (2 sticks or 8 ounces) unsalted butter, cut into pats
1 large egg
2 tablespoons (1 ounce) milk
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A Peek into the Black and White World

Posted on April 13, 2013 by Naomi Bilmes

From my blog:

I have Haredi cousins.

I did not know this until last Friday night, enjoying couch-conversation with one of said cousins before Shabbat dinner.

So many different types of Jews…

“So what do people in this neighborhood call themselves?” I asked, wondering (after seeing all the black hats and streimels) which sect of Ultra-Orthodoxy I had resigned myself to for Shabbat.

“Mostly Haredi,” she replied. “Some Hassidish and Chabad, but most people are Haredi.” She paused, then added, “I’m Haredi.”

What is “Haredi”? According to the Oxford University Press, Haredi is defined as: “a member of any of various Orthodox Jewish sects characterized by strict adherence to the traditional form of Jewish law and rejection of modern secular culture.” Therefore, I was very surprised to find out that my cousin works for Continue reading →

WxW 30/30 #1: From Start to Finish

Posted on April 2, 2013 by Annie Matan Gilbert

From my blog:

Thanks to The Velveteen Rabbi for alerting me that http://wordxwordfestival.com/ is having a 30 poems in 30 days contest. (I don’t think there are prizes but they do publish poems on their website, if you submit them.) I have subscribed to http://3030poetry.com/ for the daily prompts and have begun! I can’t guarantee I will write a poem a day but I like the idea so I got started with this haiku on the prompt “From Start to Finish”.

Noticing the breath
inhale, exhale, cool and warm
Tzimtzum over and over

This poem was inspired by the meditation practice I have begun since Stu and I attended the Or HaLev and Awakened Heart Project silent meditation retreat at Kibbutz Hannaton.

Or Halev Meditation Retreat with James Jacobson-Maisels – Incredible experience!

Posted on March 28, 2013 by Stuart Matan Lithwick

Hello!

I spent the entirety of last week doing very little but learning so much!

Annie and I went on the week-long Jewish meditation retreat, taught by Rabbi James Jacobson-Maisels (think Self, Soul, and Text), and Rabbi Jeff Roth, at Kibbutz Hannaton. Over the entire week, we could not talk to anyone except for participating in prayer, and could not make eye contact with anyone. Our entire week was spent sitting, walking, eating, praying, and sleeping. But believe it or not, it was honestly one of the most rejuvenating weeks that I have had in my entire life. Continue reading →

7-Day Silent Meditation Retreat

Posted on March 25, 2013 by Eric Feldman

From my blog:

Imagine spending seven days without your phone, television, or computer. Okay, now add on the incentive of no listening to music, reading, or writing. And now try doing that without speaking or communicating at all. Not just verbal communication; you can’t even look at anyone else. Oh, and one final, small thing – you’re not really supposed to think either. Sounds appealing, doesn’t it?

Well, yesterday, I returned from a 7-day silent meditation retreat in which I joined about 40 other people just as crazy as me in seeing what exactly that experience would be like. The retreat took place at an absolutely beautiful kibbutz in northern Israel called Hannaton, about halfway between Haifa and Tiberias. From this small kibbutz you could see tree-filled mountains and mountain ranges on all sides with tiny, mostly Arab villages here and there, and with the Sea of Galilee right outside the kibbutz’s borders. Continue reading →

[Alumni Guest Post] On Pardes and Faith

Posted on March 16, 2013 by Aaron Voldman

I miss Pardes so much. As I shared with my classmates and teachers before departing, it was a dream to learn in Israel and my experience at Pardes turned out so much better than I ever anticipated!

I feel very grateful to my classmates for sharing your insights in class, and for in havruta study both supporting and challenging me. I miss spending Shabbos with you all, and our late night chats.

And I feel very grateful to our teachers. Our teachers both inspired us in the classroom, and taught us so much outside as well. By welcoming us to their Shabbat and Chaggim tables, they shared with us the joy and beauty of our tradition. Continue reading →

Song of Clarity

Posted on January 24, 2013 by Eric Feldman

From my blog:

In this weeks parsha, Beshalach, one of the most famous events in all of the Tanakh occurs when God splits the Red Sea through the staff of Moses, allowing the Israelites to finally escape the centuries-long enslavement in Egypt and become a free people.

The result of their freedom is that the Israelites break into song, “The Song by the Sea”. This is very unusual, as only ten songs existed from the time of Creation to the end of the Biblical period. One explanation for this song is that it was a rare moment in which the people were able to make sense of how all of the daily, seemingly disconnected events in the world existed for a purpose and understand how all of the pieces of the puzzle fit into place. This manifested itself in song because the Torah’s concept of song is the situation in which “all the apparently unrelated and contradictory phenomena do indeed meld into a coherent, merciful, comrehensible whole” (Artscroll). Finally, at that moment when they saw the sea split, the exile and slavery in Egypt, Pharoah’s constant deception, and demands from the Israelites to return to slavery not only made sense, but were understood as absolutely necessary.

My splitting of the sea occurred this past Saturday night, when I finally Continue reading →

[Alumni Guest Post] Ayeka: The Cherry on my Spiritual Journey’s Cake

Posted on January 12, 2013 by admin

By Mira B. Shore (Summer ’09, ’10; Year ’12)

As a self-identified progressive, liberal, secular Jew growing up at Jewish Day School, I spent a lot of my time and energy speaking about why prayer and G-d were NOT a part of my life. I actively ran from prayer. Once I had my bat-mitzvah, there was nothing my parents could do to get me to synagogue. I prided myself on my rebelliousness and frequently claimed my atheism as a controversial badge of honor.

For university, I continued on my secular path by attending Sarah Lawrence College, named the #1 least religious college in America by The Princeton Review in 2011. While Sarah Lawrence was the perfect school for me in all other ways (academically, socially, professor/student ratio, philosophy, classroom dynamics, etc.) it was very taxing on my Judaism. After my sophomore year, I decided to go back to Israel and study at Pardes to try to find something I felt I’d lost.

Deciding to come to Pardes in the summer of 2009 was a difficult decision for me as a proud, secular Progressive, and I was concerned about how it might feel alienating. I was right. Continue reading →

Prayer for Comfort

Posted on January 3, 2013 by Annie Matan Gilbert

Thanks to Joseph Shamash for leading an inspiring Creative Shacharit this morning!

We spent time practicing the Desire meditation from James Jacobson-Maisels’ Self, Soul and Text class, then were given paper and pens and markers to express what came up for us in the form of a drawing or a prayer, etc.

Here is what came for me:

Holy Rachamim, who holds all of creation

I long for comfort.

Your deep, warm womb

The feather-caress of Your great, white wing against my cheek

Your whispered promises in my ear

in my heart

Shechina, Tzimtzumai who birthed all my ancestors and me

I yearn to come home to You

held in You in each moment

supported

tethered from my centre to Yours

fed on love and life and holiness

able to see the world

through the veil of Your body

that my own sharp edges

be softened

my bones be cushioned

my tender heart be coddled

so it can rest

assured of new days, and moments of wonder and blessing to come.

Mama, bless my tears with Your warm hand

help me to feel cleansed, refreshed, renewed

and ready

to face the world on my own feet

grounded in Your earth

on this and every dawning day.

Amen.

____________________________________________________

You can find more of my writing on my website: http://www.anniegilbert.com/writing.html

A Dvar Torah I wrote for my Synagogue:

Posted on December 28, 2012 by Laura Marder

Shabbat Shalom Pardes. I wanted to share a portion of my Dvar torah that I am giving to my Shul tonight…

Shabbat Shalom,

Last week as my facebook followers know I was standing on a mountain over the dead sea welcoming the Sabbath at a meditation retreat. If I close my eyes I can still feel that crisp dry air and see the warmth of the Negev. This Shabbat I am here with open eyes looking out into the warmth of my CBTBI Synagogue family. I flew in on the 25th because last week I received a call from the Gift of Life Bone Marrow Donation center saying that I was a match to donate peripheral stem cells to a 56 year old women with leukemia. As my dad beautiful pointed out, My last trip to the states was for a death and now with one is for a life. My brother is also a match for her or another patient. It is amazing to me to share in the mitzvah of saving a life with my brother. No matter who ends up doing the donation the fact that we are both dedicated and ready to do as they need is a huge life changing mitzvah. We both signed up to be in the Gift of Life registry while on Birthright together. I think I speak for both of us when I say that while having our cheek swabbed and signing our name we didn’t exactly think down the line to actually being matched to save someone’s life. Gift of life helps to match Jews who are in need of bone marrow or stem cells and don’t have a family member that matches them to donate. We are in the national registry as well but Gift of life facilitates the matching of the Jewish community because of the higher chances of matching a fellow Jew because of our shared origins. We are keeping the patient in our prayers and hoping that one of us will be able to help her and her family as we would hope someone would be there to helps our if needed. I would love to discuss the process and how you can also sign up for the registry with you if you would like more information.

While I am plugging life changing organizations I want to take a moment to tell you about where it is I am studying in Israel. I am receiving my masters in Jewish education at Pardes Institute of Jewish learning. I live in an apartment in Jereusalem and study in a yeshiva style everyday at pardes. My time there so far has taught me so much about myself and my abilities. I study Talmud and Torah with some of the most learned rabbi’s in Jerusalem. They each have a unique teaching style and all encourage personal interpretation to our ancient texts. I also would love to talk to you about my time there and about the varying programs that they offer for all ages and levels.

Continue reading →

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