ALEPH Ordination Programs Intensive Study Week ("Smicha Week") 2011/5771

HASHPA’AH – Week Two – Guidance From Spirit – God, Rebbes, Ancestors & Guides; Personal/Intercessory Prayer
–Rabbi Shohama Wiener and Rabbi Nadya Gross

This course is the 2nd intensive for students in HASHPA’AH III. Please note that it is a core requirement for the training, and open only to students in the 3rd cohort.

YERMIYAHU (Jeremiah): Poetic Prophet of Doom, Destruction, Lamentation, Hope and Consolation
–Rabbi Leila Gal Berner, Ph.D
Credit area: Biblical Studies

The prophet Yermiyahu was the prophet who warned of Jerusalem’s destruction and witnessed the realization of his prophecy, the destruction of the First Temple in 586 BCE, and the exile of our people to Babylonia. Experiencing the people’s rejection when he tried to warn them, he steadfastly held to his divinely ordained task and when catastrophe came, he channeled God’s comfort and consolation to his people in exile, promising them not only survival, but prosperity and return to the homeland in Eretz Yisrael. Yermiyahu is often credited with authoring not only the book named for him, but also M’lakhim I and II and Eicha. His prophecy unfolds in poetry and parable, in exhortation, in tears and in rage. In Abraham Joshua Heschel’s words, Yermiyahu “has seen like no other prophet ‘affliction under the rod of [God’s] wrath,’ but he is also imbued with the certainty of God’s attachment which surpasses…wrath” and ultimately brings divine love, comfort, consolation and forgiveness. Together we will explore this very intriguing prophet, the complex book he has left us and the dramatic times in which he lived. A short paper will be required as a post-smicha week assignment. Specifics will be discussed during our class.

Pre-Semikha-week assignment:

Familiarize yourself with the historical context immediately preceding and during Jeremiah’s time as a prophet, Nebuchadnezzar’s assault on Judea and the destruction of the First Temple and exile of the Jews to Babylonia (which Jews went into exile? Which Jews stayed in Eretz Yisrael? How long did the exile last?)

Read the entire Book of Jeremiah (Sefer Yermiyahu). Take note especially of:

• The poetic sections
• The parables
• Yermiyahu’s prophecies and exhortations – what are the specific targets of his critiques against the people? How do the people react?
• Do you see similarities between Yermiyahu and any other important biblical figure(s)?
• What is Yermiyahu’s message to the exiles in Babylonia and what are the implications of that message for later Jewish history?

BRING A BI-LINGUAL JEWISH EDITION OF THE TANAKH WITH YOU TO SEMIKHA WEEK.

Synagogue Customs and Practices: The Theology of Sacred Space
–Rabbi Daniel Siegel
Credit area: Rabbinic Texts or Practical Rabbinics

• Have you ever wondered why there are two gabbais during the Torah reading and what each one of them does?
  
  
• What mistakes made by the Torah reader should be corrected and which one allowed to pass?
  
  
• Why do good ushers in large synagogues ask people to wait at the door before going to their seats?
  
  
• What does ma’alim bikdushah v’lo moridim mean? What can you do with an old and tattered Torah cover or synagogue building?

This course will look at synagogue customs and practices from both a practical and text-based perspective. It is open to all levels and to students in all three programs.

Advance preparation includes submission of three questions about synagogue practice you would like to explore by 15 June, 2011.

There will also be some readings sent out in advance of Semicha Week (G!d willing).

Serene Sounds and Sacred Soliloquy – An Interdisciplinary Exploration of the Psalms of the Liturgy
–Rabbi Sami Barth
Credit area: Liturgy

The Book of Psalms, Sefer Tehillim is an ancient source of spiritual guidance, hope and consolation.  In every epoch of the history of our People we have turned to these texts that challenge and inspire, that console and nurture.

Selections from the Psalms have been "canonised" into our liturgy, and we will explore these selections - looking at the original text, the liturgical message and context, and at the many layers of commentary,  insight and spiritual practice that have developed through the ages.  We will look at the ways in which the message of the psalms has been understood and interpreted through the arts - in music, poetry, imagery - and in silence as the basis for meditative practice.  Most of our work will be from Jewish sources - but we will look at insights drawn from Christian and Hindu sources also.

Each students will be asked to lead (or co-lead) the exploration of one or two psalms, and also to bring two pieces of artistic work that illuminate or comment upon or respond to the psalms that we study.  We will also share the personal responses of each member of the class to the challenges and teachings found within the texts.

This course is open to all students who have the Hebrew required for admission to the Aleph Semikha programs.  The exploration of the text of the psalms will be from the Hebrew text - but almost all commentaries and analysis will be from sources available in English.  Students with more advanced Hebrew skills will be able to undertake more advanced work and receive credit for this as a more advanced course.

We will also study briefly some contemporary writings that might be placed within the tradition of the psalms.

We will explore the following selections of psalms  (we will not be looking at brief quotes from various psalms that appear within other texts of the liturgy)

(i)   P'sukei deZimrah (Hol and Shabbat)
(ii)  Hallel
(iii) Kabbalat Shabbat
(iv) Shabbat mincha
(v)  Shirei shel yom - lifecycle - birkat hamazon

Required Texts

(i)  Tanakh - in Hebrew with English if needed

(ii) Text of the psalms with Mikra'ot Gedolot for those with good skills in Rabbinic Hebrew or with classic commentaries in English (such as Artscroll)

(iii) "Psalms of the Jewish Liturgy: A Guide to Their Beauty, Power, and Meaning" by HYPERLINK "http://productsearch.barnesandnoble.com/search/results.aspx?store=book&ATH=Miriyam+Glazer"Miriyam Glazer

(iv)  Siddur for Hol, shabbat and Chag

(v) Two personally selected (by each student) commentaries to the psalms - one ancient and one contemporary.

By Popular Request: LIFECYCLE CEREMONIES CONTINUED 
–Rabbi Marcia Prager

We had room for one more morning course, and so many of you asked for a further opportunity to discuss and coach Lifecycle Ceremonies, that I said "ok! Let's go for it!"

We'll have only the morning session this time, and will work further on aspects of Lifecycle leadership that we began last summer at Pearlstone. This course is open ONLY to those who took round-one last summer. Please bring your big Lifecycle Ceremonies folio, and come prepared to dive deeper into the ritual artistry, and emotional intensity of these transformative events. Special guest teachers, RP Shulamit Fagan and Hazzan Jack Kessler will join us when they can. 

HAZZANUT: a masterclass  
–Hazzan Jack Kessler

For all cantorial students.

Materials will be sent in advance. come prepared to sing a lot.

Illness, Death, and Dying from a Jewish Perspective
–Rabbinic Pastor Shulamit Fagan
Credit area: Practical Rabbinics

• What happens to the soul when we die? 
• What does our tradition teach us about death and dying? 
• How can we allow our presence to help others at times of illness and dying?

We will share texts and experiences to help answer these and other questions, as well as discussing rituals and traditions around shiva, shloshim, funerals, unveilings and chevra kadisha.  We will study this subject from an academic and a pastoral perspective, and spend some time discussing self care and self- awareness as well. There is always additional learning needed in these areas. This class is designed to help you deeply understand the issues and deal with your reactions as well as those of the people you support.

Course goals:

• To prepare us to be available in a deep and meaningful way to those who need us for Pastoral Care, particularly Jewish care surrounding death and dying.
• To understand the Halachic principles of our rituals surrounding death and dying in order be able to offer advice and support as well as means of “renewal” when appropriate.
• To learn the important skills of deep listening and self care
  

Course Requirements:

• Be familiar with the readings listed below.
• Read all required portions before Smicha week, bringing the required texts with you.
• Come to class with an open mind and an open heart, ready to learn and share.
• Complete the homework as assigned
  

Book List:

• Jewish Views of the Afterlife
  Simcha Paul Raphael
  ISBN 1-56821-938-5
  Jason Aronson Inc.
  It can be purchased directly from the author at:www.simcharaphael.com/soam-jva1.html and is also available new and used at Amazon.com

Please be familiar with these two books. They belong in your library! These books are also available in used copies for those with budget considerations:

• Jewish Insights on Death and Mourning
  Jack Riemer
  ISBN 0-8052-1035-0
  Schocken Books
  
  
• The Jewish Way in Death and Mourning
  Maurice Lamm
  ISBN 0-8246-0422-9
  Jonathan David Publishers

Additional texts will be added before class or presented in class

All Mysticism has as a goal the transformation of consciousness. Hasidism with its psychological sophistication uses stories and other teaching forms to "shock" the reader into an awareness of "Gadlut." We will deepen our understanding of these literary tools for transformation in the context of contemporary understandings of levels of consciousness derived from comparative mysticism and evolutionary understandings of transpersonal psychology.

Texts: 

• Reb Zalman's Wrapped in a Holy Flame and A Heart A Fire
• Your Word Is Fire, edited by Arthur Green and Barry W Holtz
• Rami Shapiro, Hasidic Tales
• Ken Wilber et al, Integral Life Practice
• and go to the following website and print out the two stories and bring them with you: www.hasidicstories.com/Articles/Learning_From_Stories/wrestling.html
  

The Wide World of Tzimtzum
–Rabbi Elliot K. Ginsburg
Credit area: Jewish Mysticism (Kabbalah and Hassidut)

This playful, nay puckish, title points to the layered meaning of tzimtzum, surely one of the most resonant terms in the Jewish spiritual vocabulary. For tzimtzum can variously mean: (1) the concentrated or enriched presence of God (as in Rabbinic sources); or (2) the strategic, enabling withdrawal of the divine Everything to allow a world to unfold, as in Safed Kabbalah; or (3) it can even mean a forced (non-desired) downsizing, as in a Zoharic passage wherein Mama Shekhinah sinks into a contracted state, and must be “awakened,“ reminded that that She is lovable and loved. In many hasidic sources, (4) tzimtzum becomes metaphor, even a benevolent illusion: the appearance of divine withdrawal. Like the powerful parent or teacher who lovingly hides her knowledge or power, divinity is said to “enclothe” or veil its light, lest creatures be blinded before they are ready. Here tzimtzum serves as a series of divine step-down transformers, that reduce the divine voltage and distribute the energy in doses. (“I’m too young to fry!“) One purpose of Jewish spiritual life is to continually refine awareness so that one can progressively strip off the veils of perception—open the gates of consciousness—and take in (melt into) the unfiltered divine light. (5) A fifth option, developed by Nahman of Bratslav, plays with a striking paradox: that tzimtzum/divine withdrawal enables us to hold both Being and Nothingness, Faith and Doubt in the same breath. Nahman implies that it is davka in divine absence, in the Void of halal ha-panui, that true faith can be realized.

So tzimtzum: a little that contains a lot, ha-mu’at ha-mahaziq et ha-merubbeh. Ya think? In this class we will explore all five registers of tzimtzum, and draw out their spiritual significance. We will read closely rabbinic and mystical sources, which will be provided in the original Hebrew or Aramaic, as well as in English translation. As we probe these texts, we will relate tzimtzum to questions of divine absence and presence; to the inward and outward movements of creation and creativity, likened by the kabbalists to God’s breathing. We will relate tzimtzum to the process of spiritual leadership, which requires both stepping back and moments of presence/ intervention. How to modulate one’s gifts? How to find balance? How to surf the ratzo va-shov? We will probe the dynamics of mentoring and what it means to step aside for others. Similarly, we will explore the ethic of restraint—of not taking all that one can (a notion that the Ishbitzer Rebbe specifically links with tzimtzum) and which we might term a “deep ecology.” Our textual study will give spiritual (mythic) resonance to the vexing contemporary problem of downsizing, unwanted tzimtzum, for being too (old, young, wealthy, poor, edgy, cautious, fill in the blank). Finally, we will briefly relate tzimtzum to the other elements of the Lurianic triad, to the shevirah or shattering of the divine vessels, and the resultant process of Tiqqun—the healing/restoration of both divinity and world. Was the world created via an intra-divine fashla or catastrophe? Was the shattering an attempt at divine catharsis; or a necessary creative break-through or birthing? Was it, as some kabbalists held, not a tragedy but “a descent for the sake of ascent”? And what do these models tell us about spiritual growth? Do we grow “predictably,” through the subtle ebb and flow of life, or through unforeseen ruptures, breakthroughs and paradigm shifts? Gam ve-gam, baby.

Nuff said. Come explore these fascinating texts, live their questions, and begin the integration via daily spiritual exercises.

Note: A Website will be constructed for the class that will contain both the Sourcebook for SW, and the background reading to be completed beforehand.

Articles to read before class (tentative list)

1. For the Lurianic background: chapters by either Harold Bloom, Gershom Scholem, or Lawrence Fine on Lurianic kabbalah. (I will choose from among these)
   
   
2. For Rabbinic and Zoharic background: an article by Melila Hellner-Eshed on the Diminution of the Moon and an excerpt from her book A River Flows from Eden
   
   
3. For Hasidic notions of Tzimtzum: Arthur Green, “Hasidism: Discovery and Retreat; and a brief extract from his Tormented Master on Torah of the Void; along with a Tale by Nahman of Bratslav (such as “The Switched Children” or “The Master of Prayer”)
   
   
4. Contemporary discussion: Eugene Borowitz, “Tzimtzum as a Model of Spiritual Leadership”; and Rachel Cowan’s recent piece in Sh’ma on Mentoring; and finally, Reb Zalman on the Practice of Yom Kippur Katan.

Recommended:
Tzimtzum and Post-Holocaust Theology (e.g., Yitz Greenberg, Hans Jonas, Arthur Waskow, etc.)

Written Project (to receive full credit)
Options include:

1. Analysis of a relevant text and exploration of its contemporary resonance. Suggested length: 5 pages. May end with a 140 character Tweet (i.e., the Twitter version of your paper)
   
   
2. Tzimtzum: the Graphic Novel

An introduction to the art of midrash (Biblical interpretation) as developed by our sages in Talmudic times. As they grappled with renewing Judaism after the destruction of the Temple and the spread of Christianity, they used the language and stories of Torah to create and express original theologies. To present ideas that were often remote from Torah’s original meaning, they developed a disciplined yet open-ended method of re-reading words, verses, and stories in expanded contexts. We will study the historical challenges that informed their theologies, their assumptions about the nature of Torah, their radical theological ideas, and their interpretive techniques. Finally, we will learn to use the techniques to explore our own theological and spiritual creativity.