Spirituality: Growing Self and Community through Creativity and the Arts

May 6 2010 - 12:00pm
May 6 2010 - 1:15pm
Session Facilitator: 
Rabbi Shawn Zevit
Session Presenters: 
Rabbi Margot Stein, Rabbi Shawn Zevit, Cindy Rivka Marshall

"Each civilization produces its own form of art, which expresses most articulately the way that reality is structured in that culture. Over the thousands of years of the evolution of Jewish civilization, artists have written poetry and music, desigend synagogues and ritual objects, crafted clothing and stories, composed folk dance, and illuminated manuscripts. Jewish art plays an important role in the spiritual lives of Reconstructionists in several different ways." (exploring Judaism, p.86, http://stores.jrfbookstore.org/-strse-30/Exploring-Judaism-cln--A-Reconstructionist/Detail.bok)

This session will explore the various ways art and Jewish life are being expressed and developed by individuals and communities with a Reconstructionist perspective.

The audio recording of this call can be found here:  http://jrf.org/node/2670

 

Presenter Bio(s): 

Rabbi Margot Stein (www.RabbiMargotStein.com) is an award-winning singer/liturgical composer with 6 albums of original Jewish music to her credit.  Margot has been recognized by Shalshelet:  the International Festival of New Jewish Liturgical Music, and published in Siddur Sha'ar Zahav, A Night of Questions:  A Passover Seder, the Tu B'Shevat Anthology, and numerous supplemental liturgies and Jewish camp recordings.  She teaches Ethics and Jewish Mindfulness Practices to adults and helps children with special needs and their families create meaningful bar/bat mitzvah ceremonies.

Cindy Rivka Marshall (http://www.cindymarshall.com/)  is an award-winning professional storyteller whose dynamic theatrical style weaves words with movement and music. In her repertoire of Jewish folktales, legends, Hasidic stories and midrashim, she creates vivid characters and images. Her performances for children and adults resonate with her sense of wonder and her value of respect for all. runs the Dancing Tree Storytelling Studio at Gorse Mill Artists’ Studios in Needham, MA where she offers workshops in storytelling skills to educators, clergy and parents. Her audio recordings, "Challah and Latkes: Stories for Shabbat and Hanukkah" and "By the River: Women's Voices in Jewish Stories" won awards from National Parenting Publications, Storytelling World and Parents' Choice.  A former filmmaker, some of her documentaries are still in distribution nationally, including “A Life of Song” a portrait of Yiddish folksinger Ruth Rubin. . SheCindy is currently the co-chair of the Jewish Storytelling Coalition www.jewishstorytelling.org and is a Board member and chair of the Ritual committee at Congregation Dorshei Tzedek in Newton, MA.

Rabbi Shawn Israel Zevit, is the Director of Outreach & Tikkun Olam, and a congregational consultant and resource developer for the Jewish Reconstructionist Federation. He is a founding member of Shabbat Unplugged and the Davenning Leaders’ Training Institute, and a spiritual director for numerous clergy and communities. He has written and developed resources and delivered workshops in the areas of community building, leadership, prayer, interactive midrash, contemporary views of GOD, prayer and spiritual leadership skills, money and Jewish values, social justice issues, Jewish environmental concerns and Jewish men's issues. He is the author of "Offerings of the Heart: Money and Values in Faith Community (Alban, 2005), co-editor of "Brother Keepers: New Essays in Jewish Masculinities" (Men's Studies Press, 2010) and the Recon Press publications on "Money and Jewish Values" and "Manual for Effective Boards and Committees". Rabbi Zevit has also recorded five CD's of origianl music as well as the Reconstructionist Press Pesach CD with Shabbat Unplugged. (www.rabbizevit.com)

Signups closed for this Pearl Session

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