Cute

   This is cute

Getting Back To Basics

     I found the attack in Israel less than a week ago to be very disturbing . I am so happy that I haven't read about any of the evangelists "reasons" for why this attack happened. I have only heard requests for unity and peace among Jewish people and requests for people to reflect and appreciate their families. I have heard requests for us to  appreciate the lives we all do have. Finally.We are finally getting back to basics. We are concentrating on ahavas yisroel.  I think that this is because this attack happened in Har Nof which is home to the women's  kiruv yeshiva Neve  Yerushalayim. Rabbi Avraham Shmuel Goldberg z"tl  was the husband of Briana Goldberg, the front desk receptionist at Neve Yerushalayim. Rabbi Aryeh Kupinsky  z"tl, was the husband of the former receptionist Yaakova Kupinsky. Rabbi Kalman Levine z"tl was the husband of a Neve alumna , Chaya Levine.
      From what I have gleaned online about the rabbis who were so brutally and tragically taken from us is  that they were dedicated to doing mitzvot and to helping others. They did not hide in ivory towers with their Judaism . They helped others grow in Torah and reach their potentials. They lived "the Shabbos Project"'s ideals. Coincidentally (or not) the shabbos project's shabbos was just a few short weeks ago.
      To mekarev someone to Judaism one needs to teach someone the intricacies of halacha without neglecting to include and implement good midos and ahavas yisroel.
      We need to continue the work of those who are no longer able to lead us. We must do it out of our love for others and out of our desire for them to experience how rich a life of Torah is. Okay, maybe I am sounding a bit evangelical, but I think this is the message to be learned.



































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Shabbos as a Project

     This was the shabbos that everyone was supposed to be mekarev non-frum Jews and have them keep shabbos for one day. A lofty idea. I am not in to kiruv so I was not so excited about the whole deal. Kiruv events are often created solely for those they want to mekarev and the the designated kiruv professionals. I guess this is okay but what about the rest of us who actually are frum but could use a little inspiration? What about a global shabbos that is like a shabbaton for all Jews not just those you want to mekarev? We could all use a boost of enthusiasm about religion. Maybe just I do, but I suspect its not just me. We continually lament those who go OTD when really the time to work on those who are OTD  is before they become OTD.
     If there is one thing that I have learned about modern health is to to practice preventative care. Go to the doctor for routine check ups. Take  necessary medication. Eat healthy foods, take vitamins. The same can be applied to frumkeit. Strive to make mitzvot less rote and more mindful.
      Torah observance should not just seem like a list of rules to follow, but a lifestyle one wants to follow and one should desire to follow the mitzvot.
       I think that expanding our circles to include less observant Jews is bigger than making it a "project". I have friends who always invite their non-frum neighbors for Friday night shabbos dinners  and include them  as guests at their family simchas. This to me is a more natural way of kiruv.
       Lastly , I think that enhancing the singing of zemirot on shabbos or singing with one's family or friends after havdallah instead of just rushing off to do weekday activities might deepen our commitment to being observant Jews. Mitzvot can sometimes become so rote that we forget how enjoyable they are .
     

Achdus?

     There is a lot of talk about achdus lately. I think that there is less in fighting among us due to the war in Israel but is there really achdus? This weekend I read a letter to the editor in a midwestern Jewish newspaper . There was a kiruv organization that did a day of Jewish unity, which the author lauded, but they queried whether or not those who organized this day of unity would show up to a community wide holocaust memorial even if women spoke. My guess sadly is that they would not , though they should.
     I am not sure that I understand the holier than thou stance that is often taken. I had a friend who wanted to protest the Celebrate Israel parade in Manhattan for letting gay people march for Israel with their own banner. I replied to this person that if he wanted to address those who organized the parade about these issues it would be much more productive than simply not showing up to the parade. Not showing up to the parade makes more of a statement about not supporting Israel and no one will know they did not show up because a small group of people marched under the banner of being gay and Jewish. The parade really just is about supporting Israel not about what one's affiliations are. One really has to look at the big picture.
    Lately at "community wide" Jewish events yeshivish people do not always attend because reform or conservative rabbis speak  even if it is not a religious ceremony, like a Yom Hashoah memorial event. A less affiliated Jew may actually attend a program for a more affiliated Jewish event. When I was a kid this was not so. I went to an orthodox school in the midwest and remember attending from school a holocaust memorial program that was held in a reform temple. It was not a religious ceremony by any stretch, but it was a Jewish event. My school was more modern orthodox , perhaps if they were more charedi we may not have attended. I think that for a holocaust memorial it is important for all stripes of Jews to attend communuty wide events.
     On the flip side , I have been to rallies for Israel in Manhattan that have included all Jews in attendance even when there has been a woman rabbi or cantor speaking.
     There need to be more events that Jews of all stripes and affiliations attend where those who are more charedi attend that are not necessarily a kiruv event. We really are one people no matter how religious or not. There are events that exist where this can occur but many opt not to attend. If your really want to do kiruv this would do it more than an actual kiruv event . I do not mean that one should attend and try to mekarev someone, I mean to attend and show you are part of the klal. This does more for frumkeit than a kiruv event.
     

Kiruv Rock

     The kiruv videos that feature popular music are always fun to watch. They are often used to reel people into a life of frumkeit. This doesn't really bother me but I it does make me pause. Often the same types of people that are encouraging kiruv are also advocating folks not to listen to secular music. How do they reconcile the dichotomy? It might be better for them to make an original video with music that is in the genre of popular music but not an actual song. Whenever I watch these kiruv videos it always makes me want to listen to the real song. Sometimes the Jewish version of the song is more fun than the real one (like the maccabeats candlelight) but it does make me curious abut the real one none the less. If they made their own version of a rock song with a frum theme it would be better.
      I actually find it fun to randomly hear the real song that the kiruv song is plagiarized from. It makes me have a double take. I am usually in  a store and I can't figure out where I have heard the song before and then I realize what the song is. I don't think that this is what the kiruv set is banking on, but if they tried to be more original they might be more true to their ideals. They should stop being lazy . You don't have to piggy back on someone else's song's popularity to make someone like your song or gain interest in Judaism.  An original song can be created that would peak someone's interest, and then when they are told secular music might not be the best to listen to they won't be hypocritical.
   

kiruv vs always on the derech

there are a lot of fun singles activities out there for unaffiliated jews in the form of kiruv organizations. if you have always been frum or frum for a long while you are not  welcome there. you get to go to the mediocre events for the forever frum.  if you are frum and single and you go to an event for the not necessarily frum  crowd you may not be the exact frum that organization is pushing so you may be a 'bad' influence.  perhaps the crowd will influence you negatively. oh and chas v-shalom you might actually meet someone there and get married to them. maybe you will grow together, maybe you won't, but you might have gotten married and on to the next step.
i never understand why there aren't more organizations bent on keeping others frum as opposed to being mekarev those who are so far from judaism that its almost like you are converting them when you mekarev them.
dont't get me wrong, i am not against kiruv. i just think that if the kindness and patience extended those who are not frum was extended to those who are currently frum there may less who go off the derech. its really less work to keep the currently frum connected because they still know the path.