Orthodox Jewish Men in an Egalitarian World

Total Page:16

File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb

Orthodox Jewish Men in an Egalitarian World Th e Men’s Section HBI Series on Jewish Women Shulamit Reinharz, General Editor Sylvia Barack Fishman, Associate Editor Th e HBI Series on Jewish Women, created by the Hadassah-Brandeis Institute, pub- lishes a wide range of books by and about Jewish women in diverse contexts and time periods. Of interest to scholars and the educated public, the HBI Series on Jewish Women fi lls major gaps in Jewish Studies and in Women and Gender Studies as well as their intersection. Th e HBI Series on Jewish Women is supported by a generous gift from Dr. Laura S. Schor. For the complete list of books that are available in this series, please see www.upne.com Elana Maryles Sztokman Harriet Hartman and Moshe Hartman, Th e Men’s Section: Orthodox Jewish Men in Gender and American Jews: Patterns in an Egalitarian World Work, Education, and Family in Contem- porary Life Sharon Faye Koren Forsaken: Th e Menstruant in Medieval Dvora E. Weisberg, Levirate Marriage Jewish Mysticism and the Family in Ancient Judaism Sonja M. Hedgepeth and Rochelle G. Ellen M. Umansky and Dianne Ashton, Saidel, editors, Sexual Violence against editors, Four Centuries of Jewish Women’s Jewish Women during the Holocaust Spirituality: A Sourcebook Julia R. Lieberman, editor Carole S. Kessner, Marie Syrkin: Values Sephardi Family Life in the Early Modern Beyond the Self Diaspora Ruth Kark, Margalit Shilo, and Galit Derek Rubin, editor Hasan-Rokem, editors, Jewish Women in Promised Lands: New Jewish American Pre-State Israel: Life History, Politics, and Fiction on Longing and Belonging Culture Carol K. Ingall, editor, Th e Women Who Tova Hartman, Feminism Encounters Reconstructed American Jewish Education: Traditional Judaism: Resistance and 1910–1965 Accommodation Gaby Brimmer and Elena Poniatowska, Anne Lapidus Lerner, Eternally Eve: Gaby Brimmer: An Autobiography in Images of Eve in the Hebrew Bible, Th ree Voices Midrash, and Modern Jewish Poetry Elana Maryles Sztokman Th e Men’s Section Orthodox Jewish Men in an Egalitarian World Brandeis University Press Waltham, Massachusetts Brandeis University Press An imprint of University Press of New England www.upne.com © 2011 Brandeis University All rights reserved Manufactured in the United States of America Designed by Katherine B. Kimball Typeset in Minion by Integrated Publishing Solutions University Press of New England is a member of the Green Press Initiative. Th e paper used in this book meets their minimum requirement for recycled paper. For permission to reproduce any of the material in this book, contact Permissions, University Press of New England, One Court Street, Suite 250, Lebanon NH 03766; or visit www.upne.com Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Sztokman, Elana Maryles. Th e men’s section: Orthodox Jewish men in an egalitarian world / Elana Maryles Sztokman. — 1st ed. p. cm. — (HBI series on Jewish women) Includes bibliographical references and index. isbn 978-1-61168-078-2 (cloth : alk. paper)—isbn 978-1-61168-079-9 (pbk. : alk. paper)—isbn 978-1-61168-080-5 (e-book) 1. Equality—Religious aspects—Judaism. 2. Orthodox Judaism—Doctrines. 3. Women (Jewish law) 4. Shira Hadasha (Jerusalem) I. Title. bm645.e85s98 2011 296.081—dc23 2011030022 5 4 3 2 1 Th e publication of this book was generously supported by the Lucius N. Littauer Foundation. To Jacob, with love Contents Foreword by Sylvia Barack Fishman ix Acknowledgments xiii Prologue 1 I Introducing Orthodox Men 9 1 Jewish Men on the Borders 11 2 Th e “BOMB”: Th e “Be an Orthodox Man” Box 31 3 On Hippies, Heretics, and Hafi fniks 69 II Changing Men, Changing Society 83 4 Orthodox Men Creating Partnership 85 5 Jocks, Dads, and Homebodies 109 6 Men Encountering Feminism 135 III Orthodox Men Creating New Boundaries 155 7 “Just Not Reform” 157 8 Th e New Patriarchy 176 IV Refl ections and Conclusions 199 9 Refl ections on Orthodox Masculinities 201 Epilogue 219 Appendix A: Notes on Methodology 229 Appendix B: Data on the Interviewees 232 Glossary 237 Notes 243 Bibliography 255 Index 263 Foreword Sylvia Barack Fishman In traditional Orthodox synagogues, worshippers are partitioned into male and female spaces. “Th e women’s section,” as it is oft en called, seats girls and women, who do not take vocal leadership roles in the Hebrew service, despite the fact that today many Orthodox women have excellent Judaic educations and liturgi- cal knowledge. Th e women’s section is a clearly defi ned area—a balcony, or a section of seats behind a latticework, curtain, or fencelike structure—and it is never where the holy ark containing the Torah scrolls is located. All the action of the service is conducted by the worshipping congregation of men and boys over age thirteen in the space where the Torah and the podiums to read, chant, lead the congregation, and deliver sermons are also located. By default, one may call this main congregational area, as Elana Maryles Sztokman ironically does, “the men’s section.” Sztokman went from “following the rules” of Orthodox female comport- ment to “stepping out” of her “assigned role.” For the fi rst time in a life that had included weekly attendance at Orthodox Sabbath prayer services, she felt “truly present” when she led the congregation at the fi rst Shira Hadasha Partnership Minyan in Jerusalem—a liberal Orthodox service that inaugurated a new ap- proach, allowing women over age twelve to be called to the Torah, to read from the Torah scroll, and to lead parts of the service for men and women who sit separated, in the Orthodox fashion, by a mekhitza partition. However, unlike most other Orthodox congregations, the mekhitza in a Partnership Minyan al- lows males and females equal access to the Torah service. And, as Sztokman explains in this fascinating and lively social analysis, the innovations are far more than visual. Some girls and women who participate in Partnership Minyanim—which now number 22 in the United States, Israel, Australia and elsewhere—regard their enfranchisement as an unexamined and welcome gift . But Sztokman has a researcher’s curiosity. Who are the men frequenting Partnership Minyanim, x Foreword she wondered? Are they ideological feminists? Extraordinary individuals? Why would they voluntarily relinquish the exclusive ownership that men enjoy in conventional Orthodox prayer services, while still remaining committed to the obligation of thrice-daily prayer? Unlike men in more liberal wings of Judaism, where female worshippers are sometimes the majority these days, the men in Partnership Minyanim retain their Orthodox sense of male obligation. On principle, Partnership Minyanim do not commence without a minyan (prayer quorum) of ten men, plus ten women. In a world where women’s enfranchise- ment has oft en been accompanied by declining male interest and involvement, the men of the Partnership Minyan provide an intriguing model. Sztokman freely admits that her research has been one expression of her advocacy within a Partnership Minyan in Modi’in, Israel, where she lives. She vividly describes the great passion for prayer among the men of her childhood in devoutly Orthodox Williamsburg, Brooklyn, where synagogue Judaism was an unchallenged men’s club. She traces the process through which the fi rst Part- nership Minyanim were created, placing them in the context of simultaneously emerging Independent Congregations like Mechon Hadar in New York. With her keen eye for telling details, her wit, and her startling insights, Sztokman shows that although gender equality was a profoundly motivating goal for both Orthodox and non-Orthodox innovative congregations, women would not have been able to achieve change in either “without the compliance of men, especially powerful men.” Th e fi rst lesson of her study, then, is that male part- nership made women’s greater participation possible. Th is book’s subject is “men who dwell in transition”—not always a comfort- able position! As the construction of femaleness changes, so does the construc- tion of maleness. All-male environments like Orthodox synagogue leadership are oft en permeated by pressure to follow all the rules incumbent on men, and Sztokman brilliantly lays out the multiple ways that Orthodox societies box men into patriarchal systems: Orthodox men compete on scales of piety, ear- nestness, and ritual and intellectual precision. Men who don’t measure up are viewed as dilettantes, and considered less manly and strong. Th e prayer shawl, tallit, which some men managed to safeguard even in Holocaust concentration camps, is symbolic of this male seriousness and strength, as are the phylacter- ies, teffi lin, proudly donned by Orthodox Israeli soldiers every weekday, with- out exception, even on the front lines. For Israeli Jews, these ritual objects are thus super-male symbols of gevura, courage and prowess—words that come from the same Hebrew root as the word for male, gever. Along comes Orthodox Foreword xi feminism, with one of Sztokman’s mentors being photographed in tallit and teffi lin while she nurses a baby! It should not be surprising that in Israel resis- tance to feminist changes sometimes take more dramatic form than in the United States, and Sztokman skillfully unpacks the signifi cances of the resis- tance as well as the changes. Male on male competition demands fl awless public performance skills in chanting from the Torah scroll and leading services, and sloppiness is punished by a “culture of pouncing on the fl awed layner (Torah reader)”—a circumstance terrifying to neophyte Torah readers. Young men are trained not to react emo- tionally when veteran readers “bark” corrections at them. For many, not react- ing means not feeling—and eventually feeling nothing throughout the prayer service, she argues. Th e swift Israeli prayer service has an ethos of “ba’im, gom- rim, holchim,” “we come, we fi nish, we go.” Religious emotions of excitement, aff ection and anticipation are much more likely to be aroused by “learning,” the rigorous study of rabbinic texts than they are by prayer in conventional Ortho- dox settings.
Recommended publications
  • Getting Your Get At
    Getting your Get at www.gettingyourget.co.uk Information for Jewish men and women in England, Wales and Scotland about divorce according to Jewish law with articles, forms and explanations for lawyers. by Sharon Faith BA (Law) (Hons) and Deanna Levine MA LLB The website at www.gettingyourget.co.uk is sponsored by Barnett Alexander Conway Ingram, Solicitors, London 1 www.gettingyourget.co.uk Dedicated to the loving memory of Sharon Faith’s late parents, Maisie and Dr Oswald Ross (zl) and Deanna Levine’s late parents, Cissy and Ellis Levine (zl) * * * * * * * * Published by Cissanell Publications PO Box 12811 London N20 8WB United Kingdom ISBN 978-0-9539213-5-5 © Sharon Faith and Deanna Levine First edition: February 2002 Second edition: July 2002 Third edition: 2003 Fourth edition: 2005 ISBN 0-9539213-1-X Fifth edition: 2006 ISBN 0-9539213-4-4 Sixth edition: 2008 ISBN 978-0-9539213-5-5 2 www.gettingyourget.co.uk Getting your Get Information for Jewish men and women in England, Wales and Scotland about divorce according to Jewish law with articles, forms and explanations for lawyers by Sharon Faith BA (Law) (Hons) and Deanna Levine MA LLB List of Contents Page Number Letters of endorsement. Quotes from letters of endorsement ……………………………………………………………. 4 Acknowledgements. Family Law in England, Wales and Scotland. A note for the reader seeking divorce…………. 8 A note for the lawyer …………….…….. …………………………………………………………………………………….. 9 Legislation: England and Wales …………………………………………………………………………………………….. 10 Legislation: Scotland ………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 11 1. Who needs a Get? .……………………………………………………………………………….…………………... 14 2. What is a Get? ………………………………………………………………………………………………………… 14 3. Highlighting the difficulties ……………………………………………………………………………….………….. 15 4. Taking advice from your lawyer and others ……………………………………………………………………….
    [Show full text]
  • Redefining a Minyan for the Sake of Service to God
    It Is Time to Act for the Lord: Redefining a Minyan for the Sake of Service to God Dear CSZ Family, As of Shabbat on Friday night, May 8, 2020 corresponding to 15 Iyar 5780, Congregation Shaarey Zedek will affirm a minimum of ten Jewish adults who can be seen and heard, either virtually or in-person, as a minyan -- the gathering that ​ ​ ​ ​ constitutes a quorum for public prayer. This decision comes in response to the global pandemic affecting every aspect of our society, and it supersedes previous teshuvot that I have issued regarding our ​ ​ community prayer services. While an in-person communal gathering of prayer is superior to a virtual one, this teshuvah is written with the goal of allowing members of ​ ​ Congregation Shaarey Zedek to more fully feel God’s presence as well as the fellowship of community and, perhaps more importantly, to further strive to serve God with joy and with a sacred sense of purpose (i.e., commandedness). Additionally, this teshuvah is in keeping with Congregation Shaarey Zedek’s efforts ​ ​ toward inclusion by ensuring that those who are unable to attend the synagogue because of health complications or health vulnerabilities are equal to those who are able to attend the synagogue in-person. What Is Conservative Judaism? “It is Conservative Judaism that most directly confronts the challenge to integrate tradition with modernity,” wrote Robert Gordis in the Conservative movement’s statement of principles, Emet Ve-emunah. “By retaining most of the tradition while yet ​ ​ being hospitable to the valuable aspects
    [Show full text]
  • Conversion to Judaism Finnish Gerim on Giyur and Jewishness ​ ​ ​ ​
    Conversion to Judaism Finnish gerim on giyur and Jewishness ​ ​ ​ ​ Kira Zaitsev Syventävien opintojen tutkielma Afrikan ja Lähi-idän kielet Humanistinen tiedekunta Helsingin yliopisto 2019/5779 provided by Helsingin yliopiston digitaalinen arkisto View metadata, citation and similar papers at core.ac.uk CORE brought to you by Tiedekunta – Fakultet – Faculty Koulutusohjelma – Utbildningsprogram – Degree Programme Humanistinen tiedekunta Kielten maisteriohjelma Opintosuunta – Studieinriktning – Study Track Afrikan ja Lähi-idän kielet Tekijä – Författare – Author Kira Zaitsev Työn nimi – Arbetets titel – Title Conversion to Judaism. Finnish gerim on giyur and Jewishness Työn laji – Aika – Datum – Month and year Sivumäärä– Sidoantal Arbetets art – Huhtikuu 2019 – Number of pages Level 43 Pro gradu Tiivistelmä – Referat – Abstract Pro graduni käsittelee suomalaisia, jotka ovat kääntyneet juutalaisiksi ilman aikaisempaa juutalaista taustaa ja perhettä. Data perustuu haastatteluihin, joita arvioin straussilaisella grounded theory-menetelmällä. Tutkimuskysymykseni ovat, kuinka nämä käännynnäiset näkevät mitä juutalaisuus on ja kuinka he arvioivat omaa kääntymistään. Tutkimuseni mukaan kääntyjän aikaisempi uskonnollinen tausta on varsin todennäköisesti epätavallinen, eikä hänellä ole merkittäviä aikaisempia juutalaisia sosiaalisia suhteita. Internetillä on kasvava rooli kääntyjän tiedonhaussa ja verkostoissa. Juutalaisuudessa kääntynyt näkee tärkeimpänä eettisyyden sekä juutalaisen lain, halakhan. Kääntymisen nähdään vahvistavan aikaisempi maailmankuva
    [Show full text]
  • The Marriage Issue
    Association for Jewish Studies SPRING 2013 Center for Jewish History The Marriage Issue 15 West 16th Street The Latest: New York, NY 10011 William Kentridge: An Implicated Subject Cynthia Ozick’s Fiction Smolders, but not with Romance The Questionnaire: If you were to organize a graduate seminar around a single text, what would it be? Perspectives THE MAGAZINE OF THE ASSOCIATION FOR JEWISH STUDIES Table of Contents From the Editors 3 From the President 3 From the Executive Director 4 The Marriage Issue Jewish Marriage 6 Bluma Goldstein Between the Living and the Dead: Making Levirate Marriage Work 10 Dvora Weisberg Married Men 14 Judith Baskin ‘According to the Law of Moses and Israel’: Marriage from Social Institution to Legal Fact 16 Michael Satlow Reading Jewish Philosophy: What’s Marriage Got to Do with It? 18 Susan Shapiro One Jewish Woman, Two Husbands, Three Laws: The Making of Civil Marriage and Divorce in a Revolutionary Age 24 Lois Dubin Jewish Courtship and Marriage in 1920s Vienna 26 Marsha Rozenblit Marriage Equality: An American Jewish View 32 Joyce Antler The Playwright, the Starlight, and the Rabbi: A Love Triangle 35 Lila Corwin Berman The Hand that Rocks the Cradle: How the Gender of the Jewish Parent Influences Intermarriage 42 Keren McGinity Critiquing and Rethinking Kiddushin 44 Rachel Adler Kiddushin, Marriage, and Egalitarian Relationships: Making New Legal Meanings 46 Gail Labovitz Beyond the Sanctification of Subordination: Reclaiming Tradition and Equality in Jewish Marriage 50 Melanie Landau The Multifarious
    [Show full text]
  • A QUARTERLY of WOMEN's STUDIES RESOURCES WOMEN's STUDIES LIBRARIAN University of Wisconsin System
    WOMEN’S STUDIES LIBRARIAN FEMINIST COLLECTIONS A QUARTERLY OF WOMEN’S STUDIES RESOURCES Volume 33 Number 1 Winter 2012 University of Wisconsin System Feminist Collections A Quarterly of Women’s Studies Resources Women’s Studies Librarian University of Wisconsin System 430 Memorial Library 728 State St. Madison, WI 53706 Phone: 608-263-5754 Fax: 608-265-2754 Email: [email protected] Website: http://womenst.library.wisc.edu Editors: Phyllis Holman Weisbard, JoAnne Lehman Cover drawing: Miriam Greenwald Drawings, pp. 15, 16, 17: Miriam Greenwald Graphic design assistance: Daniel Joe Staff assistance: Linda Fain, Beth Huang, Michelle Preston, Heather Shimon, Kelsey Wallner Subscriptions: Wisconsin subscriptions: $10.00 (individuals affiliated with the UW System), $20.00 (organizations affili- ated with the UW System), $20.00 (individuals or non-profit women’s programs), $30.00 (institutions). Out-of-state sub- scriptions: $35.00 (individuals & women’s programs in the U.S.), $65.00 (institutions in the U.S.), $50.00 (individuals & women's programs in Canada/Mexico), $80.00 (institutions in Canada/Mexico), $55.00 (individuals & women's programs elsewhere outside the U.S.), $85.00 (institutions elsewhere outside the U.S.) Subscriptions include Feminist Collections, Feminist Periodicals, and New Books on Women, Gender, & Feminism. Wisconsin subscriber amounts include state tax (except UW organizations amount). All subscription rates include postage. Feminist Collections is indexed by Alternative Press Index, Women’s Studies International, and Library, Information Science, & Technology Abstracts. It is available in full text in Contemporary Women’s Issues and in Genderwatch. All back issues of Feminist Collections, beginning with Volume 1, Number 1 (February 1980), are archived in full text in the Minds@UW institutional repository: http://minds.wisconsin.edu/handle/1793/254.
    [Show full text]
  • Challenge on the Campus
    Volume 10 • Issue 3 Summer 2015 URGENCY IN UKRAINE Under Siege and Displaced STRIVING TO PROVIDE Voices of Local Agency Heads SOLIDARITY AND SPIRIT Rock 3,000 at IsraelFest CHALLENGE ON THE CAMPUS Boca Raton, Florida 33428 Florida Raton, Boca Preparing Young People to 9901 Donna Klein Boulevard Klein Donna 9901 Step Up, Speak Out & Act 1 CHAILIFE We’re Saving you a Seat! JOIN US FOR OUR COMMUNITY MISSION TO ISRAEL! PASSENGER B OA R D I N G your naMe here PASS DATE NOVEMBER 13-19, 2015 DATE 11.13.15 - 11.19.15 DEPARTURE USA ARRIVAL TEL AVIV, ISRAEL MISSION CHAIRS KAREN & MARK DERN ADELE & HERMAN LEBERSFELD See the Innovation Nation Enjoy food, wine and culture Meet with security experts Experience outdoor adventures Attend sessions with Celebrate Shabbat in Jerusalem and more! government officials jewishboca.org/spirit For more information, contact Barbara Kabatznik at 561.852.6050 or [email protected]. PRICE: $3,200* per person – land only, double occupancy *$500 subsidy per person available A minimum individual gift of $500 to the 2016 UJA/Jewish Federation of South Palm Beach County Annual Campaign is required to attend. C atCh the Spirit! We’re Saving 6 JOIN US FOR OURyou COMMUNITY MISSIONa STO ISRAEL!eat! 8 PASSENGER B OA R D I N G your naMe here PASS 16 DATE NOVEMBER 13-19, 2015 DATE 11.13.15 - 11.19.15 DEPARTURE USA 36 ARRIVAL TEL AVIV, ISRAEL MISSION CHAIRS KAREN & MARK DERN ADELE & HERMAN LEBERSFELD 44 FEATURES 4 AN URGENT CALL See the Innovation Nation Enjoy food, wine and culture Ukraine in Need Meet with security experts Experience outdoor adventures 6 JOURNEY TO IMPACT Attend sessions with Celebrate Shabbat in Jerusalem and more! Our 2015 Annual Meeting government officials 8 IN SOLIDarity AND SPIRIT CONTENTS IsraelFest 2015 14 THEY STRIVE to PROVIDE Voices of Agency Heads 14 Federation Partnerships 20 Campaign 2015 jewishboca.org/spirit 16 COMMUNITY OF unity For Naftali, Gil-Ad & Eyal 26 Men’s Division For more information, contact Barbara Kabatznik at 561.852.6050 or [email protected].
    [Show full text]
  • Schechter@35: Living Judaism 4
    “The critical approach, the honest and straightforward study, the intimate atmosphere... that is Schechter.” Itzik Biton “The defining experience is that of being in a place where pluralism “What did Schechter isn't talked about: it's lived.” give me? The ability Liti Golan to read the most beautiful book in the world... in a different way.” Yosef Peleg “The exposure to all kinds of people and a variety of Jewish sources allowed for personal growth and the desire to engage with ideas and people “As a daughter of immigrants different than me.” from Libya, earning this degree is Sigal Aloni a way to connect to the Jewish values that guided my parents, which I am obliged to pass on to my children and grandchildren.” Schechter@35: Tikva Guetta Living Judaism “I acquired Annual Report 2018-2019 a significant and deep foundation in Halakhah and Midrash thanks to the best teachers in the field.” Raanan Malek “When it came to Jewish subjects, I felt like an alien, lost in a foreign city. At Schechter, I fell into a nurturing hothouse, leaving the barren behind, blossoming anew.” Dana Stavi The Schechter Institutes, Inc. • The Schechter Institute of Jewish Studies, the largest M.A. program in is a not for profit 501(c)(3) Jewish Studies in Israel with 400 students and 1756 graduates. organization dedicated to the • The Schechter Rabbinical Seminary is the international rabbinical school advancement of pluralistic of Masorti Judaism, serving Israel, Europe and the Americas. Jewish education. The Schechter Institutes, Inc. provides support • The TALI Education Fund offers a pluralistic Jewish studies program to to four non-profit organizations 65,000 children in over 300 Israeli secular public schools and kindergartens.
    [Show full text]
  • Shulchan Arukh Amy Milligan Old Dominion University, [email protected]
    Old Dominion University ODU Digital Commons Women's Studies Faculty Publications Women’s Studies 2010 Shulchan Arukh Amy Milligan Old Dominion University, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.odu.edu/womensstudies_fac_pubs Part of the History of Religions of Western Origin Commons, Liturgy and Worship Commons, Religious Thought, Theology and Philosophy of Religion Commons, and the Yiddish Language and Literature Commons Repository Citation Milligan, Amy, "Shulchan Arukh" (2010). Women's Studies Faculty Publications. 10. https://digitalcommons.odu.edu/womensstudies_fac_pubs/10 Original Publication Citation Milligan, A. (2010). Shulchan Arukh. In D. M. Fahey (Ed.), Milestone documents in world religions: Exploring traditions of faith through primary sources (Vol. 2, pp. 958-971). Dallas: Schlager Group:. This Book Chapter is brought to you for free and open access by the Women’s Studies at ODU Digital Commons. It has been accepted for inclusion in Women's Studies Faculty Publications by an authorized administrator of ODU Digital Commons. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Spanish Jews taking refuge in the Atlas Mountains in the fifteenth century (Spanish Jews taking refuge in the Atlas Mountains, illustration by Michelet c.1900 (colour litho), Bombled, Louis (1862-1927) / Private Collection / Archives Charmet / The Bridgeman Art Library International) 958 Milestone Documents of World Religions Shulchan Arukh 1570 ca. “A person should dress differently than he does on weekdays so he will remember that it is the Sabbath.” Overview Arukh continues to serve as a guide in the fast-paced con- temporary world. The Shulchan Arukh, literally translated as “The Set Table,” is a compilation of Jew- Context ish legal codes.
    [Show full text]
  • The Zamir Chorale of Boston Joshua R
    The Zamir Chorale of Boston Joshua R. Jacobson, Artistic Director Barbara Gaffin, Managing Director Lawrence E. Sandberg, Concert Manager and Merchandise Manager Edwin Swanborn, Accompanist Andrew Mattfeld, Assistant Conductor Devin Lawrence, Assistant to the Conductor Jacob Harris and Melanie Blatt, Conducting Interns Rachel Miller, President Charna Westervelt, Vice President Michael Kronenberg, Librarian Sopranos Betty Bauman* • Melanie Blatt • Jenn Boyle • Vera Broekhuysen • Lisa Doob • Sharon Goldstein • Naomi Gurt Lind • Maayan Harel • Marilyn J. Jaye • Anne Levy • Sharon Shore Rachel Slusky • Julie Kopp Smily • Louise Treitman • Deborah Wollner Altos Anna Adler • Sarah Boling • Jamie Chelel • Johanna Ehrmann • Deborah Melkin* • Rachel Miller • Judy Pike • Jill Sandberg • Nancy Sargon-Zarsky • Rachel Seliber • Elyse Seltzer • Gail Terman • Phyllis Werlin • Charna Westervelt • Phyllis Sogg Wilner Tenors David Burns • Steven Ebstein* • Suzanne Goldman • Jacob Harris • Kevin Martin • Andrew Mattfeld* • Dan Nesson • Leila Joy Rosenthal • Lawrence E. Sandberg • Gilbert Schiffer • Dan Seltzer • Yishai Sered • Andrew Stitcher Basses Peter Bronk • Abba Caspi • Phil Goldman • Michael Krause-Grosman • Michael Kronenberg Devin Lawrence* • Richard Lustig • Michael Miller • James Rosenzweig • Peter Squires • Mark Stepner • Kyler Taustin • Michael Victor • Jordan Lee Wagner • Robert Wright • Richard Yospin *Section Leader Board of Directors 2016–17 Joshua Jacobson, President • Robert Snyder, Chairman • Peter Finn, Clerk • Gilbert Schiffer, Treasurer • Richard Blocker • Bruce Creditor • Bruce Donoff • Barbara Gaffin, Managing Director • Rachel Miller, Chorus President • Lawrence E. Sandberg Program Notes PSALMS What book has ever been set to music more often than the book of Psalms? Jews and Christians have been interpreting these 150 songs (and they were originally songs, not poems) for thousands of years—as Gregorian chant, synagogue Psalmody, catchy Hallel tunes, stately hymns, and musical masterworks.
    [Show full text]
  • OF 15Th 2003 Rabbinic and Lay Communal Authority.Pdf (934.2Kb)
    Rabbinic and Lay Communal Authority edited by Suzanne Last Stone Robert S. Hirt, Series Editor THE MICHAEL SCHARF PUBLICATION TRUST of the YESHIVA UNIVERSITY PRESs New York forum 15 r08 draft 7b balanced.iiii iii 31/12/2006 11:47:12 THE ORTHODOX FORUM The Orthodox Forum, initially convened by Dr. Norman Lamm, Chancellor of Yeshiva University, meets each year to consider major issues of concern to the Jewish community. Forum participants from throughout the world, including academicians in both Jewish and secular fields, rabbis,rashei yeshivah, Jewish educators, and Jewish communal professionals, gather in conference as a think tank to discuss and critique each other’s original papers, examining different aspects of a central theme. The purpose of the Forum is to create and disseminate a new and vibrant Torah literature addressing the critical issues facing Jewry today. The Orthodox Forum gratefully acknowledges the support of the Joseph J. and Bertha K. Green Memorial Fund at the Rabbi Isaac Elchanan Theological Seminary established by Morris L. Green, of blessed memory. The Orthodox Forum Series is a project of the Rabbi Isaac Elchanan Theological Seminary, an affiliate of Yeshiva University forum 15 r08 draft 7b balanced.iii ii 31/12/2006 11:47:12 Copyright © 2006 Yeshiva University Press Typeset by Jerusalem Typesetting, www.jerusalemtype.com * * * Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Orthodox Forum (15th : 2003 : New York, N.Y.) Rabbinic and lay communal authority / edited by Suzanne Last Stone. p. cm. – (Orthodox forum series) Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 978-0-88125-953-7 1. Rabbis – Office – Congresses.
    [Show full text]
  • Hazzan Randall Levin to Our Family!
    THE VOL. 97 NO. 5 JULY/AUGUST 2018 TAMMUZ/AV/ELUL 5778 HazzanWelcome Randall Levin To Our Family! Mission Statement Temple Beth El is a vibrant and inclusive community of Jews who join together for prayer, education, celebration, mutual support and comfort, tikkun olam and acts of loving kindness. We are guided by Torah and the principles of the Conservative movement. We are committed to our community, the State of Israel, and Jews around the world. Vision Statement Our vision is that Temple Beth El will be an inspiring center of Conservative Judaism in which meaningful experiences and memories take root and grow. Values Statement We are a welcoming and inclusive congregation. We value and respect each congregant and his or her personal journey in Judaism. We foster a sense of connectedness with our community. We value participation in all aspects of synagogue and Jewish life. Our congregation will be here for the entire Temple family now and for future generations. Welcome to our house. WEEKDAY SERVICES Shacharit: Sunday: .......................8:30 am Monday–Friday: ........7:30 am Rosh Hodesh: .............7:15 am Secular Holidays: ......8:30 am Mincha/Ma’ariv: Sunday–Friday: .........6:00 pm 139 Winton Road South Rochester, NY 14610 SHABBAT SERVICES Phone: 585-473-1770 (beginning October 14, 2017 with Bereshit) tberochester.org Pesukei dezimra: .......9:30 am facebook.com/TBEROCH Shacharit: ....................10:00 am @tberochester Torah Service: .............10:30 am Mincha/Ma’ariv: 1½ hrs prior to sunset TISHA B’AV SERVICE TIMES JULY 21 Ma'ariv and Eicha ........................ 9:15 pm JULY 22 Shacharit ......................................... 8:30 am Mincha 1 ........................................
    [Show full text]
  • Newsletter December 2014 Volume 6, Number 2 Ira M
    Newsletter December 2014 Volume 6, Number 2 Ira M. Sheskin Editor, University of Miami Professor and Chair, Department of Geography and Director, Jewish Demography Project of the Sue and Leonard Miller Center for Contemporary Judaic Studies American Jewish Year Book Special Price for ASSJ Members T he American Jewish Year Book is published by Springer with the cooperation of The Association for the Social Scientific Study of Jewry. The 935-page 2014 volume features ì a Forum on the Pew Survey (with contributions from Janet Krasner Aronson, Sarah Bunin Benor, Steven M. Cohen, Alan Cooperman, Arnold Dashefsky, Sergio DellaPergola, Harriet Hartman, Samuel Heilman, Bethamie Horowitz, Ari Y. Kelman, Barry A. Kosmin, Deborah Dash Moore, Theodore Sasson, Leonard Saxe, Ira Sheskin, and Gregory A. Smith); í Gender in American Jewish Life by Sylvia Barack Fishman; î National Affairs by Ethan Felson; ï Jewish Communal Affairs by Lawrence Grossman; ð Jewish Population in the United States, 2014 by Ira M. Sheskin and Arnold Dashefsky; ñ The Demography of Canadian Jewry by Morton Weinfeld and Randal F. Schnoor; and ò World Jewish Population 2014 by Sergio DellaPergola. In addition, the volume contains up-to-date listings of Jewish Federations, Jewish Community Centers, Jewish social service agencies, national Jewish organizations, Jewish day schools, Jewish overnight camps, Jewish museums, Holocaust museums, national Jewish periodicals and broadcast media, local Jewish periodicals, Jewish studies, holocaust and genocide studies programs, Israel studies programs, as well as Jewish social work programs in institutions of higher education, major books, journals, and scholarly articles on the North American Jewish 2 The Association for the Social Scientific Study of Jewry Vol.
    [Show full text]