Holidays

The Holy Days of Tishrei (Rosh hashannah, Yom Kippur, Sukkot...)

Rabbi Shawn Zevit — Sat, 19 Sep 2009 21:02:29 -0400

Start: Sep 19 2009 - 9:02pm

End: Oct 11 2009 - 9:02pm

Shannah Tovah! The JRF website contains numerous resources for Rosh Hashannah, Yom Kippur, Sukkot, Shmini Atzeret and Simchat Torah. Simply enter any of these holiday names in the search box on the left side of any page and enjoy and rich and expansive set of audio programs, articles, texts and stories on the Days of Awe and Sukkot. Wishing you all the most inspiring, healthiest, joy-filled and meaningful sweet new year. Welcome to 5770 from the staff and lay leadership of JRF!

Tu Bishvat is Coming, Check Out Resources

Victoria Cangelosi — Mon, 10 Jan 2011 09:31:46 -0500

Baobob at Kibbutz Ein GediCheck out these Tu Bishvat resources:

From Hazon
From The Lookstein Center for Jewish Education
JRF Tu Bishvat Resource List

Hanukkah: Resources for Celebrating the Festival of Lights

Rabbi Shawn Zevit — Thu, 18 Nov 2010 01:50:00 -0500

Chag Sameach! Welcome to an annual time of rededication, liberation and seeing light in the darkest of times! Here are some resources to help bring warmth, meaning and new light to this ancient holiday. Wishing you much joy as we join with Jews celebrating Hanukkah around the world, and wish the best for many other faith traditions and peoples, celebrating their own festivals of light at this time of year!

Yom HaShoah Resources

Victoria Cangelosi — Thu, 08 Apr 2010 08:50:53 -0400

Yom HaShoah/Holocaust Remembrance Day

Yom HaShoah
by Ilana Streit

There is a gaping hole
in the body of the Jewish people

about fifty years old
and slowly healing

Some try to cover it with bandages
but the wound needs to breathe

Some try to fill it with Land
but I’m afraid it will get infected

Doctors estimate that within one hundred years
scar tissue will begin to form

There is a gaping hole
in the soul of the Jewish people

Some try to fill it with words

Yom HaAtzmaut Resources

Victoria Cangelosi — Thu, 08 Apr 2010 08:38:00 -0400

Yom HaAtzmaut/Israel Independence Day

Israeli Independence Day Ceremony
By Rabbi Rebecca Lillian

Prayers and Songs for Israel
By Rabbi Amy Klein

PEARL Webinar on Israel and Yom Ha'atzmaut

Israel Resources from the JRF Resources Library - This broad collection of articles, bibliographies, lesson plans, activities, divrei Torah, and frequently asked questions is a rich resource for congregations in approaching the topic of Israel.

http://jrf.org/Women-of-the-Wall

Israel at 60

Purim 2010

Victoria Cangelosi — Tue, 16 Feb 2010 08:41:28 -0500

Don't miss out on the great Purim resources from our resource library!

Purim FAQ by Rabbi Shai Gluskin

Purim Customs Around The World by Rabbi Amy Klein
How are customs from other countries similar or different from the way you celebrate Purim with your family, school or congregation?

A compilation of Reconstructionist and Reconstructionist-compatible books for teaching Purim

Esther Chapter 1 - What Does It Mean? by Rabbi Shai Gluskin
A lesson plan about Megillat Esther and Satire

Lyrics to the famous Reconstructionist Purim song "She Said No (to the King)! by Miraj

Rhyming Introductions For Megillat Esther Chapters by Rabbi Laurie Zimmerman

Here's Looking at You, Esther - A Purim play for 4th-6th grade students by Larry Smith

Communal Mishlo'ach Manot Project by Rabbi Shai Gluskin & Betsy Teutsch
A model mitzvah project for our congregations

Purim Shpiel Acts by Rabbi Shoshana Hantman

Check out these great JRF Purim articles from past years…both silly and serious: http://jrf.org/purim

Divrei Torah

A Reflection on Power by Rabbi Lewis Eron

A Time to Challenge Distinctions by Rabbi Steve Segar

Four Lessons We Learn from Purim by Rabbi Elliott Tepperman

Let's Reconstruct Purim to Become a Celebration of Feminism by Barbara Carr

Global Jewish Climate Change Campaign and Sustainable Synagogue Resources

Rabbi Shawn Zevit — Wed, 13 Jan 2010 12:53:16 -0500

Click here for Reconstructionist movement and other general resources for living a sustainable, Jewish life!

http://jrf.org/Sustainable_Synagogue_Resources

http://jrf.org/Jewish-Climate-Change-Initiative

The Holy Days of Tishrei- Resources for Rosh Hashannah, Yom Kippur and Sukkot

Rabbi Shawn Zevit — Tue, 22 Sep 2009 10:23:57 -0400

Shavuot

Gari Weilbacher — Wed, 29 Apr 2009 12:54:18 -0400

SHAVUOT (The Feast of Weeks) is so called because it completes seven weeks from the second day of Passover on which the omer (a measure) of the new barley was brought to the Temple. This holiday celebrates the early wheat harvest in Israel. It commemorates the covenant at Sinai between God and Israel, and the giving of the Ten Commandments. (From the Recon Press pocket calendar)

Please take advantage of JRF's Shavuot Resources:

RT Article: Shavuot: The Harvest Festival of Torah
By Rabbi Emanuel S. Goldsmith

Audio Interview: Shavuot
By Rabbi Shai Gluskin, Rabbi Linda Potemken, Rabbi Shawn Zevit
Rabbi Shai Gluskin and Rabbi Linda Potemken explore the history and meaning of the Jewish spring festival, the counting of the Omer, and the time of "receiving of the Torah."

Dvar Torah: Ruth, the First Convert
By Rabbi Richard Hirsh
We celebrate Shavuot, called in tradition "zman matan Torataynu", the season of the giving of our Torah, and by reading the book of Ruth.

Shavuot
Audio Program: Rabbi Shai Gluskin, Rabbi Linda Potemken, Rabbi Shawn Zevit
We explore the history and meaning of the Jewish spring festival, the counting of the Omer, and the time of "receiving of the Torah". An episode of Heart, Mind and Spirit.

Omer Project: Tikkun L'eyl Shavuot: The Many Paths to Revelation of Torah
Session Presenters: Rabbi Leila Gal Berner, Janet (Shifra) Tobacman, Rabbi Shawn Zevit
In this preparatory session for Shavuot, we will look at the spiritual practice of studying sacred text, with emphasis on the traditional themes of revelation (both of the earth's bounty and of Torah from a Reconstructionist perspective), of faith (The Book of Ruth) and how we come "down from the mountain" of peak experiences to live ethical and spiritually conscious lives in connection with our faith communities and the world-at-large.

God Laughs - A Sermon by Rabbi Stephen Booth-Nadav

Rabbi Shai Gluskin — Wed, 26 Sep 2007 12:39:10 -0400

Here is an excerpt from Rabbi Steve Booth's Rosh Hashanah sermon from this year. Download the complete sermon.

A couple summers ago, I was sailing a large rented sailboat on Lake Dillon with Rabbi Soloway from Boulder. I was thrilled to discover he was as experienced and skilled a sailor as I, as he grew up ocean racing in England. It was just the two of us, a somewhat blustery late spring day, but we were doing fine. As the wind slowly built up however, I was steering, and I said: “Marc, I know its a pain, but if we reefed the main down a bit, it would be easier to steer and we’d have more control.” He agreed, and we did it.

As he finished with the sail and looked back to me from the deck, as we both started to nod that yes, this was better, ....BOOM! -- ....we heard something pop.... and with a sick feeling, looked up, and watched in slow motion as the mast broke, and the sails and all the rigging simply blew off the boat! We were dead in the water, dragging our sails and rigging. (Sound at all like anyone’s life this year?)

Good thing we were two rabbis... better yet... good thing we were two experienced sailors. Marc quickly started to haul in the sails and rigging, while I tried to start the outboard motor. Interestingly, neither of us was getting anywhere. So silently, as a team, we switched positions. As I was hauling in the rigging, I noticed that the wind was slowly blowing us towards a rocky shore. Not good. I thought, “you know... this stuff makes a good anchor,” and I dropped everything back in the water.

The short version of the story is that Marc got the engine started and I hauled in the cold, wet rigging. We kept our heads, worked as a team, and to the shock of the folks at the Dillion Marina, on our own we brought the boat, sails, and all the rigging back safely to dock. We did this by not fighting the changes, but by adjusting to them. We worked together and stayed on course.

Rabbi Stephen Booth-Nadav leads B'nai Havurah in Denver, Colorado.