For Yom kippur: Underwear drive!
Two views on how (and how not) to attract jews closer to their heritage.
- From a press release by an organization that is seeking to make the Day Of Atonement cool :
Thousands of Jewish worshippers around the country are being drawn to Synagogue 3000's new concept of lively, creative and spiritually welcoming communities...Synagogue 3000 leads the movement to help synagogues across denominations think creatively-Synagogue 3000 congregations are growing, not shrinking. Synagogue 3000 had a pathbreaking meeting with Rick Warren ("The Purpose-Driven Life"), founding pastor of Saddleback Church, to explore what synagogues can learn from megachurches and small groups.
Examples:
New York: Jewish ritual theatre with DJ, turntables and traditional instruments at revived Actors Temple hosted by Artistic Director Amichai Lau-Lavie.
Los Angeles:
Young female rabbi attracts vast crowds of next generation hipsters to Yom Kippur yoga and disco break-fast (Ikar, Mid-Wilshire, Los Angeles);
Performer Craig Taubman leads a band for Rosh Ha Shanah service (Sinai Temple) and conducts innovative healing service on Yom Kippur
(University Synagogue);
"Project Pushcart" tribute to Jewish immigrants - food & clothing drive for Hurricanes Katrina & Rita (Valley Beth Shalom)
Washington DC: Yom Kippur creative dance celebration themed after Daniel Pearl's "I am Jewish" statement and new underwear drive for the homeless (Temple Micah, Washington DC)
Columbus, OH: Performer Danny Maseng leads accessible and singable "adult contemporary" service on Rosh Hashanah afternoon (Temple Israel, Columbus, OH)
Who:
..Synagogue 3000 was developed by Rabbi Lawrence Hoffman of Hebrew Union College and Dr. Ron Wolfson of University of Judaism. http://www.synagogue3000.org - Here are excerpts from an excellent opinion column in L. A.'s Jewish Journal that puts things quite differently :
.. if we think that hip is the solution, we are demeaning the essence of Judaism. We are trivializing its soul....
..Hip is not about meaning. Hip is not about depth. Hip is not about the soul. Hip is not about connection to human beings and the world.
Hip is about shallow. Hip is about self-absorption. Hip is about today, this minute. Hip is not about the past and it is certainly not about the future.
This Rosh Hashanah, Jewish organizations need to realize that Judaism is not hip. Its never going to be hip. It is not supposed to be hip. Judaism has too much depth to ever be hip. Judaism must be perceived as the antidote to hip. The products Judaism offers must be the escape from shallow hip. They must be the refuge, the other road, the real thing.
If we believe that the Jewish masses are looking for hip, there are plenty of places they can fill that need. They can go to the Gap. Now, thats hip...
posted by Yeshiva Orthodoxy
at 12:11 AM
4 Comments:
I know it's difficult to grasp, but homeless people do in fact need new underwear from time to time, just like you and I. Whether this should be the focus of a Yom Kippur avoda is of course a different point. Nonetheless, you succeed in demonstrating your immaturity by your "tee-hee, underwear" reaction.
"Immaturity" isn't something one can control.
I beg your pardon if I suggest the Holiest day of the year isn't exactly the opurtune time for an underwear drive.
On Yom Kippur one's self is what needs cleansing.
While the "hip" ideas certainly can evoke constructive criticism, mocking the "underwear drive" demonstrates a lack of compassion for those in need.
Imagine if you could not afford clean socks and underwear? I always find it surprising that in the Orthodox community, where many families (esp. in Israel) can't afford what most of us consider basic necessities, that people choose to mock a practical charitable drive.
Unfortunately in non-Orthodox communities, the leaders are only able to get the attention of their congregants once-a-year. I don't see any reason why encouraging charity during that time is inappropriate. And, certainly encouraging this mitzvah, can be done in conjunction with encouraging other mitzvot. While it might be an odd drive to have on Yom Kippur, there is certainly nothing wrote with it. And remember that mitzvot beget mitzvot and compassion is a quality of Am Yisrael. I'm glad to know that my non-observant brothers and sisters are compassionate people.
I'm mocking how the holiest days of the year have lost their focus.
The focus is Teshuvah (Repent), Tefilah (pray), and Tzedakah (charity).
How much emphasis is put by the man-made jewish denominations on the first two?
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