After years as a struggling actor, Daniel was cast to play a part in Conan O’Brien’s “human-centipede-menorah.” His bizarre experience evolved from one of shame into a deepening connection with his personal heritage, a reckoning with the choices he’d made, and ultimately a desire to tell the story of EIGHT NIGHTS. This is a film about our deep connection to the people we love. At a time when we couldn’t see some of those whom we love most, the making of this film felt even more poignant.
Contains depictions of violence and humiliation. Parental discretion advised.
Hanukkah 2021 was another adventure! Many thanks to the Mogilefskys for hosting our outdoor gathering. Everyone enjoyed their climbing wall and hammock, as well as meeting their gorgeous pets. We lit our giant Menorah, as is our custom, played dreidel, and had a Hanukkah trivia guessing game with gelt prizes. Although no latkes were cooked communally this year, jelly donuts or sufganiyot, were available as take-home treats. As always, we found another way to welcome the light into our lives and into the world. Pictures can be found (and uploaded!) here: https://photos.app.goo.gl/RB32f6Wv9oSD9u7u7
As we light our candles this Chanukah season, here’s a printable poster from Bend the Arc to remind us that their flames lead us towards a more just and equitable future.
Elise, a young Jewish girl, struggles to find meaning in her traditional Hanukkah celebration in a world centered around Christmas festivities. To view the film and an interview with the director, please visit: https://sfjewishfilm.medium.com/
Zoe’s Dumpling Crisis Director: Ellen Rodnianski, Runtime 10 minutes https://sfjewishfilm.medium.com/zoes-dumpling-crisis-september-monthly-short-d7fc24bcd720 About The Short For International Food Week at school, Zoe enlists the help of her Grandmothers. One from Russia, the other from Turkey. Two Grandmothers, one kitchen, and an international dumpling dish.
Thank you to all who participated in our survey about COVID safety and masking at TVCJ events. The survey revealed that:
About half of respondents were comfortable with indoor events.
Three-quarters of respondents wanted everyone masked indoors regardless of vaccination status.
Only a quarter of respondents were comfortable with masks being optional, even outside.
A majority of respondents were only comfortable with food if the event is held outdoors or with social distancing.
Our events bring together people from different geographical areas and include many young, unvaccinated, and vulnerable people. Based on the survey results as well as growing concerns over the Delta variant and changing government guidance, the TVCJ Board has decided on the following policies for upcoming events:
Events will be held outdoors; in poor weather, events will be held virtually.
All event attendees must wear masks except when eating.
Family groups will maintain 6’ distance while eating.
We will continue to monitor new guidance and trends in the pandemic’s progression, and will make changes to these policies as needed.
Every year, as part of our Shavous celebration, we all recommend our favorite books from the past year. Here are this year’s recommendations from some of our members.
You can click on any title to be taken to an Amazon page to order that book.
On every rabbinic ordination certificate are the words “to teach” and “to judge.” That’s the core of what rabbis in every movement do.
First, we teach. But before we teach, we have to learn. Secular Humanistic rabbis learn Jewish history and language, about holidays and life cycles, about Jewish texts and about pastoral care. We teach adults and children in formal settings and as part of our holiday and life cycle observances.
But we also teach by example. We uphold Secular Humanistic Jewish values by visiting the sick, by exhibiting kindness and patience and humor, by speaking out against racism and violations of human rights. We hope that when you see us embodying these values, you’ll also be inspired to act.
This kind of teaching is what all rabbis of all movements do. But Secular Humanistic rabbis also teach about the diversity of the Jewish people. We help you to find your place in the Jewish world by showing you that what you believe and what you are interested in exist in the Jewish universe and that your way of being Jewish is just fine, not less, not other, but perfectly legitimate. We teach you that you belong.
The second job of the rabbi, to judge, is different. Religious rabbis judge both ritual and ethical questions, from whether your chicken is kosher to whether someone has cheated at business. Secular Humanistic rabbis – along with some rabbis of other liberal denominations – help you to judge. When you come to us with an ethical dilemma, we know how to ask the questions that allow you to explore your own feelings and ideas about how to act. We are not the authorities on the answers you should come to – we are the guides to help you find your own path to answers.
Although “smikah” – rabbinic ordination – gives the authority and responsibility to teach and judge, modern rabbis, particularly Secular Humanistic rabbis, have the responsibility of creating and supporting community. Our primary connection to our Jewishness is not a relationship with a god, it’s a relationship with our community. It’s really hard to be Jewish alone – our job is to make sure you are not alone, that you have a welcoming and supporting Jewish community that accepts and enjoys you and your family just as you are.
If you don’t do what I say, then I’m going to hurt someone you don’t care about! Does that sound like a good way to force someone to do what you want? No? But that’s what happens in the story of Pesakh (Passover).
Ancient Egypt was ruled by an absolute monarch who owned all land and whatever it produced. The entire populace worked for him. We read in Genesis that all the grain in the country belonged to the Pharaoh and that the people who grew the grain then had to pay the Pharaoh if they wanted some to eat. Clearly, the Pharaoh did not care about the residents of Egypt.
The story tells us that after Moses asked the Pharaoh to let the Israelites leave and the Pharaoh’s refusal, 10 plagues befell Egypt to force the Pharaoh to accede to Moses’ request.
Why didn’t the first 9 plagues work? Water pollution, frogs, lice, wild animals, livestock disease, boils, hail and locusts devastated ordinary Egyptians. Even if the locusts ate the crops, whatever was left went to the Pharaoh. Giant hail didn’t hurt the Pharaoh’s palace as it might the homes of poorer people. Livestock disease meant that the ordinary farmers had nothing to eat and didn’t have livestock to sell to buy food from the Pharaoh. All these terrible plagues did nothing to change the Pharaoh’s mind because they happened to people he did not care about. Not until the 10th plague that killed his heir did he relent.
So, why did the authors of the story have the god send the first nine plagues, these destructive natural disasters? It was pretty obvious that they wouldn’t work to affect the ruler. They only hurt ordinary people who weren’t responsible for the economic system of the country.
Well, I don’t really know why the authors included this story – although one can assume it was to show the power of their god – but I do know what we can learn from it because we see the lessons playing out in our time. We see that natural disasters devastate ordinary people but that big shots like, say, US Senators, can always escape them. If we’d paid attention to the plague story, we’d have been less shocked. We see that economic sanctions that countries put on other countries really hurt only the ordinary people – not the Ayatollahs or the Putins. If we’d paid attention to the plague story, we’d have known this.
So let’s remember when we try to influence other countries that hurting ordinary people is not the best way to achieve our goals. And let’s remember that we should elect officials who actually care about ordinary people.
For Tu B’Shvat, all TVCJ members received a package of parsley seeds, along with instructions on how to plant and care for them. The seeds we planted then are growing nicely, and will be a wonderful addition to our upcoming Passover Seder.
