http://jew-ish.com/index.php/site/index/ en eric@jew-ish.com Copyright 2010 2010-09-01T23:19:06+00:00 http://jew-ish.com/index.php?/stories/item/birthright_blues/ http://jew-ish.com/index.php?/stories/item/birthright_blues/#When:23:19:06Z Dori Myer went on Birthright expecting to find the kind of emotional connection. She didn't quite find it. I’ve never felt more like a Jew than I did growing up in Orange County, California. The dreamland of Walt Disney, no great lover of the Jews, Orange County is also home to hordes of Republicans. It is quintessential suburbia where being unique is frowned upon. To me, being Jewish meant being the “other” in my neighborhood, in my classes, and often in my social groups. When I decided to go on a Taglit Birthright Israel trip, I was sure that I would finally feel some sense of belonging. Even though Israel is a different country with a different culture, I believed it would be full of other misunderstood and disparaged people; people who shared my values and quite possibly, my self-deprecating sense of humor. I was wrong. In fact, it turns out I belong in Israel about as much as I belong in Orange County. A common conception about Taglit trips is that they aim to brainwash young Jews into becoming Zionists. It’s sort of easy to understand why any Jew would be suspicious of a free trip across the world for 10 days, in which you travel exclusively with other Jews around a highly militarized place. Still, Israel is exotic and ancient and so terribly controversial that turning down this gift almost feels cowardly. Although I wasn’t raised with any sense of religion or God, I believe in the enormity of thousands of years of shared history and the titillating potential that I share the same genetic markers as Moses. A part of me yearned to figure out just what my Jewish identity was or if I even had one at all. Arriving in Tel Aviv with 39 other young American Jews was somehow less epic than I imagined it to be. I had a fantasy of meeting other outcasts and making fast friends. I naively assumed that shared persecution was enough to bind me to someone else. One of the most surprising things I found was that the majority of the participants were children of mixed marriages, with only one parent who identified as Jewish or sometimes even only one grandparent. It became clear that Israel’s magnetism could touch most people in the world, especially those with even the most distant of Jewish backgrounds. Having two Jewish parents didn’t make me special, but it made me wonder how much I actually had in common with children of interfaith marriages. I always tell people I’m “culturally Jewish” to convey that I know nothing about the religion, but that I still suffer from intense guilt from family members. From the get-go, I learned that I wasn’t necessarily going to meet another person just like me on the trip, which was both a slight disappointment and a thrill. I have friends who went on the Birthright trip and came back saying they finally fit in somewhere. Though I tried to understand, I didn’t have that experience. Not only did I go on the trip with a hodgepodge of different types of Americans, but I found Israel’s Jewish nationalism intimidating. Because I’ve never practiced Judaism, religious Jews have always made me feel uncomfortable and ignorant. In Israel, that feeling was multiplied tenfold. Even the secular Jews there seem to have a working knowledge of the Bible. My own Jewish identity is directly linked to Mel Brooks’ puns, Woody Allen’s nervousness, and Michael Chabon’s historical fantasies, not the Torah. For my family, holidays mean uttering the famous truism, “They tried to kill us, we survived, let’s eat.” Going to Israel made me feel like a very bad Jew. I was shouted at in Hebrew, mocked for opening a book upside down, and stared at for being translucently pale on a beach full of evenly tanned Mediterranean people. But in other ways, Israel felt very familiar. I saw green and blue eyes, blond and brown and curly and straight hair, tattoos and piercings — you name it. And here I was expecting to blend into a sea of nebbishes, their slightly crooked noses buried in books. The American Jewish stereotypes did not apply. It was exciting to see attractive, strong, fit Jews, and I immediately felt ashamed for assuming all of my people were snarky weaklings. During our mifgash, the five days we traveled with eight Israeli 20-somethings, I learned that Israel has a direct line to American culture — and not specifically the Jewish aspects. To my horror, “American Idol” is a huge hit over there, as well as Lady Gaga and rap music. Many Israelis supported John McCain in the 2010 presidential election and praised the efforts of George W. Bush. Despite the familiarity of Israel, I found myself inching further from that special feeling of “belonging.” Instead, I found myself grasping to reconcile the myth with the reality – and trying not to be disappointed with the process. It turned out the Israelis I met were not very different from many young Americans I know, with the exception of the mandatory military service that makes Israelis tougher. In general, daily life there seems similar to life here, minus a lot of Jesus. The most impressive and unique part of the trip, the part that really separated Israel from anything I have ever known, was visiting Jerusalem. Jerusalem has its own vibrations and the sounds of the three Abrahamic religions echo through its corridors, making it feel like the center of the world. I was overwhelmed simply by the intensity of emotion that fills the city walls. If there was ever a time I felt connected to other people, it was overlooking the cityscape of Jerusalem. There I understood why the city felt so right to so many people. But the realization didn’t make me feel any more Jewish.  In June , The New York Times published an article by Peter Beinart about what Israel means to young American Jews. A study found that young Jews don’t feel the way our parents and grandparents did about Israel. Young Jews “had imbibed some of the defining values of American Jewish political culture: a belief in open debate, skepticism about military force, a commitment to human rights. And in their innocence, they did not realize that they were supposed to shed those values when it came to Israel,” Beinert wrote.  Israel is no longer an automatic symbol of acceptance and refuge to young American Jews. The Israeli government can and often does do wrong. For instance, on my trip, I learned about a sort of state-sponsored discrimination against Arab-Israelis when it comes to fair pay and employment. These are not the kinds of things young Americans can choose to ignore. I find it hard to fall in love with an Israel led by a right-wing government that invokes the past to control with fear. It reminds me of too many American politicians who cite 9/11 as evidence that we should give up more of our civil liberties. Israel has gotten plenty of raw deals. But it’s a country like any other, with its own fundamentalism, corrupt politicians, wars, and dirty laundry. It also has a vibrant, youthful culture full of loving, intelligent people. Somehow I didn’t feel that special connection to either Israel’s Jewishness or with its Westernness. I went looking to justify my own Jewish identity and found that there is no one Jewish way – just a mix of people feeling around in the same darkness for some meaning. 2010-09-01T23:19:06+00:00 http://jew-ish.com/index.php?/stories/item/building_leaders/ http://jew-ish.com/index.php?/stories/item/building_leaders/#When:00:49:14Z The SpringBoard Leadership Series aims to build leaders who will serve Jewish nonprofits. For the past five years, The Jewish Federation of Greater Seattle’s Young Leadership division has presented the SpringBoard Leadership Series. Designed by Rob Dolin, YLD board chair, and Cameron Levin, director of YLD, the program has graduated more than 60 people. I took the 2009-2010 sequence, becoming an alum of the program in May. I applied to take SpringBoard because I wanted to feel more involved in the community. SpringBoard participants are introduced to the Seattle Jewish community and trained on how to serve on Jewish non-profit boards or committees. I’ve done non-profit work since I was a kid, but I figured it was worth pursuing anyway. If there was a chance I could connect with other Jews near my age, I was willing to leap for it. I was working with Jewish children and families at the time, and felt out of place as a young, childless divorcée. The program began with a tour of Seattle’s Jewish history — it was on this tour I felt most right about SpringBoard. It was cold; we were crowded together outside the bus on the sidewalk under blue-gray skies, waiting to be motioned inside our next destination. One of the historians on the tour with us was able to narrate his experiences as a child in this particular beautiful building. The Islamic School of Seattle, located on 25th Ave. in the Central District, is a building with a long history. Long before I was born, the school administered to Jewish students. The historian had even attended Orthodox school here. Now the building is used as a school for Islamic students. It was meaningful to me that the building changed populations, but not purpose. It continues to be a place of education and community for a whole new generation of children. “SpringBoard accomplishes our leadership development goal within Young Leadership,” Levin told me. “Something that we really strive to do is train and develop future leaders, not just for the Federation, but for the entire Jewish community.” The past SpringBoard sequence saw a wide variety of activities and speakers. Beginning with the guided tour, our 2009-2010 cohort saw sessions facilitated by Rabbi Will Berkovitz, then of Hillel at the University of Washington, Michael Novick of the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee, Rivy Poupko Kletenik, head of school at the Seattle Hebrew Academy, and many other speakers. The Novick and Kletenik talks were among my favorites. Novick’s work with the JDC was fascinating. He held the room, and engaged it, explaining how the countries so many of our families came from — some as refugees — still have Jewish populations, and how the JDC is aiding those populations and helping to train their own young leaders. Kletenik beautifully explored a piece of Torah with our cohort. She supplied handouts in Hebrew and English, carefully opening the words and meanings to examination. I’m not a literate Hebrew reader or speaker, but Kletenik’s ability with language and instruction made her session open to everyone there, regardless of their literacy level in Hebrew. When it came to studying the nuts and bolts of operating on a board and engaging in philanthropy, it was essentially a refresher course for me. But for someone with no prior experience, SpringBoard would be a great way to familiarize with fund-raising and non-profit leadership. “For non-profits to exist, they need to not just succeed in their mission, but establish a team of strong solicitors and fundraisers,” Levin said. “Students may not come out of the program fist-pumping excited to fundraise, but in SpringBoard we have open and honest conversations about this type of work. I think students become less intimidated by it. They also learn how to work with staff professionals and other board members as a functional team.” There was a moment in a session when the guest speaker emphasized why board members need to put money into the organizations they lead. I’m a college student, so I’m one of the first people to know about financial difficulties. But if you can’t put your money where your mouth is and give something — anything — monetarily to the places where you already give your sweat and labor, the message you send is that you’re willing to help, but only to a point. I found the program to be hard work, and that to get anything out of it, I had to put my time in. There was reading to keep up with, sessions to attend, and, beyond that, the need to be more than physically present at events. Not all of the homework was new to me, but it inspired something I hadn’t felt in a long time. Sitting in a pizza parlor, on the bus during the guided tour, in laughter-filled moments in dark rooms watching Power Point presentations, I felt a sense of possibility. SpringBoard alumni are encouraged to use their experience as a stepping stone to further involvement in the Seattle Jewish community. Levin told me that a year ago, SpringBoard conducted a demographic survey of SpringBoard graduates, finding 60 percent of the alumni went on to serve in community volunteer positions. As I progressed through the program, I felt that future in the many different people all in one room, together, seeking what was best for their community. Just like I’m doing, I know they’re out there, working to make this community a stronger one. That’s making a difference. 2010-08-30T00:49:14+00:00 http://jew-ish.com/index.php?/stories/item/jew-ish_high_holiday_guide/ http://jew-ish.com/index.php?/stories/item/jew-ish_high_holiday_guide/#When:18:36:28Z Your 2010 Metro Seattle High Holiday guide, courtesy of JT News intern Lillian Cohen-MooreThe dates for High Holidays this year are: Selichot: Saturday, September 4 Rosh Hashanah: Begins the evening of Wednesday, September 8 through Friday, September 10 Kol Nidre: Friday, September 17 Yom Kippur: Saturday, September 18 Synagogues highlighted in red offer services at no cost. GREATER SEATTLE CONSERVATIVE Congregation Beth Shalom Held at 6800 35th Ave NE, Seattle. Contact Marjie Cogan at 206-524-0075 or marjiecogan@bethshalomseattle.org Selichot: 9:15 p.m. Rosh Hashanah:  eve: 6:45-7:30 p.m. (preceded by prospective member open house at 6 p.m.) Rosh Hashanah:  day 1: Main Service: 8:30 a.m.–1:15p.m. Young Family Service (pre-school): 9:45–10:45 a.m. Family Service (grades K-4): 11 a.m.–12:15 p.m. Children’s Programming: 11 a.m.–1:15 p.m. Rosh Hashanah: day 2: Main Service: 8:30 a.m.–1:15 p.m. Young Family Service (pre-school): 9:45–10:45 a.m. Family Service (k-4): 11 a.m.–12:15 p.m. Children’s Programming: 11 a.m.–1:15 p.m. Kol Nidre: Main Service: 7–9:30 p.m. Family Service (grades K-4): 7–8:30 p.m. Children’s Programming: 7:20–9:30 p.m. Yom Kippur: Main Service: 9:30 a.m.–3:45 p.m. Young Family Services (Preschool): 9:45–10:45 a.m. Family Service (grades K-4): 11 a.m.–12:15 p.m. Children’s Programming: 11 a.m.–1:15 p.m. Ne’ilah: 6:45–8 p.m. Havdalah/Ma’ariv: 8:01–8:15 p.m. Cost: $200 (includes all services). Discount available before Sept 3. Herzl-Ner Tamid Conservative Congregation Held at Herzl-Ner Tamid, 3700 E Mercer Way, and the Stroum Jewish Community Center, 3801 E Mercer Way, Mercer Island. Contact Isolde at 206-232-8555 or isolde@h-nt.org Selichot: 8:45 p.m. Rosh Hashanah  eve: 6 p.m. (HNT) Rosh Hashanah   day 1: 8:15 a.m. (HNT) & 8:45 a.m. (SJCC) Rosh Hashanah   day 2: 8:30 a.m. (HNT) Kol Nidre:   6:30 p.m. (HNT & SJCC) Yom Kippur   day: 9:40 a.m. (HNT) 10 a.m. (SJCC), Yizkor: 12:45 (HNT & SJCC) Mincha: 5:20 (HNT) N’eilah/Maariv: 6:40 p.m. (HNT) Havdalah and Final Tekiah: 7:59 p.m. (HNT) Flashlight Brigade (ages newborn–6 years old): 6:45 p.m. Come to the Skolnick Board Room to hear a story, learn what it means to be a “light to the nations” and participate in activities about light. They will then participate in the annual Flashlight Brigade for Havdalah. RSVP at http://www.h-nt.org. Cost: $100 per holiday or $180 for Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur MEDITATIVE/RECONSTRUCTIONIST/RENEWAL Bet Alef Meditative Synagogue Held at Unity of Bellevue, 16330 Northeast 4th Street, Bellevue. Contact Shellie Oakley at 206-527-9399 or shellie@betalef.org Selichot: 8 p.m. Rosh Hashanah eve: 7 p.m. Rosh Hashanah day 1: 10:30 a.m., followed by a community potluck lunch at 1 p.m. and Tashlich at 3:30 p.m. Kol Nidre: 7 p.m. Yom Kippur day: Morning Service: 10:30 a.m. L’Chaim (12-step) Meeting: 1:45 p.m. Family Service: 1:45 p.m. Healing Meditation: 2:45 p.m. Memorial (Yizkor) Service: 4:45 p.m. Ne’ilah (Conclusion): 6 p.m. Break-Fast: 7 p.m. Cost: $200 adult non-members for all services; $70 for individual service; Youth (13-18) $100/$35; Child (3-12) $35/$12 Congregation Eitz Or Held at the University Unitarian Church, 6556 35th Ave. NE, Seattle. Contact Tree McCurdy at 206-467-2617 or info@eitzor.org Elul and High Holy Day Workshop, August 29, 10 a.m. at local home Rosh Hashanah Eve: 7 p.m.–9:30 p.m. Rosh Hashanah  Day 1: 10 a.m.–1 p.m. Vegetarian Potluck Lunch: 1–2 p.m. Tashlich and Shofar Lakeside Service: Sept. 9, 4–5 p.m., behind the Green Lake Bathhouse Theatre Kol Nidre: 6:30–9 p.m. Yom Kippur  Day: 10 a.m.–1:30 p.m. Healing Yizkor and Ne’ilah: 5:30–8:30 p.m. Vegetarian Potluck Break-Fast: 8:30–9:30 p.m. Cost: Adult member, $40 single service, $100 all services package; Adult non-member, $60-100 single service; Older child/teen (11-18) member $12 single service, $45 all-services package; Older child/teen non-member $18 single service; low-income member $10 single service, $40 all services package; low-income non-member $12 single service Kadima Reconstructionist Community Kadima’s services are lay-led and donation-based: All are welcome! Please RSVP for child care. Held at 1919 E Prospect St., Seattle 98112 Contact Kathy Gallagher at (206) 547-3914 or office@kadima.org or http://www.kadima.org Rosh Hashanah eve: 7 p.m. Rosh Hashanah  day 1: 10 a.m. Children’s service: 10 a.m. Vegetarian potluck: 12:30 p.m. Tashlich, 2 p.m. Kol Nidre: 7 p.m. Yom Kippur  day: 10 a.m. Children’s service: 10 a.m. Discussion: 1 p.m. Yizkor: 5 p.m. Ne’ilah: 6 p.m. Break-Fast vegetarian potluck: 7:45 p.m. Cost for services: Suggested sliding scale donation $10-$54 per adult per service. No one turned away. ORTHODOX Bikur Cholim Machzikay Hadath Congregation Held at 5145 S Morgan St., Seattle. Contact Dee at 206-721-0970. Selichos: Sat.-Wed., Sept. 4-8 Sat., Sept. 4, 11 p.m. Mon., Sept. 6, 6:10 a.m. Tues., Sept. 7, 6:20 a.m. Wed., Sept. 8, 5:30 a.m. Also: Sun.-Tues. night following Ma’ariv: 9:30 p.m. Rosh Hashanah eve: Candle Lighting: 7:18 p.m. Mincha: 7:25 p.m. Rosh Hashanah  day 1: Shacharis: 8 a.m. Torah Reading: 9:55 a.m. Sermon: 10:30 a.m. Shofar Blowing: 10:55 a.m, Musaf: 11:15 a.m. Mincha: 7:10 p.m. Tashlich: 7:25 p.m. Ma’ariv: 8:10 p.m. Candle Lighting for second day: after 8:19 p.m. Rosh Hashanah  day 2: Shacharis: 8 a.m. Torah Reading: 9:55 a.m. Sermon: 10:30 a.m. Shofar Blowing: 10:55 a.m. Musaf: 11:15 a.m. Candle Lighting by 7:14 p.m. Mincha: 7:20 p.m. Tzom Gedaliah: Sun., Sept. 12 Latest time to eat: 4:58 a.m., fast commences: 5:30 a.m. Selichos: 7 and 9 a.m. Mincha: 7 p.m. Fast ends: 8:10 p.m. Evening Selichos minyan: 9:30 p.m. Selichos: Mon.-Fri., Sept. 13-17 Mon., Sept. 13: 6 a.m. Tues., Sept. 14: 6:10 a.m. Wed., Sept. 15: 6:10 a.m. Thurs., Sept. 16: 6 a.m. Fri., Sept. 17: 6:35 & 7:35 a.m. Also: Sun.-Thurs. night following Ma’ariv: 9:30 p.m. Kol Nidre: Selichos: 6:35 & 7:35 a.m. Women’s mikvah hours: 8-10 a.m. Men’s mikvah hours: 10:30 a.m. Mincha: 3 p.m. Fast Commences, Candle Lighting: 6:59 p.m. Kol Nidre: 7 p.m. Sermon 7:10 p.m. Yom Kippur  day: Shacharis: 8 a.m. Torah Reading: 10:45 a.m. Sermon: 11:30 a.m. Yizkor: 12 p.m. Mussaf: 12:15 p.m. Mincha: 5:45 p.m. Ne’ilah: 6:55 p.m. Fast Concludes: 8 p.m. Cost for services: Free. Chabad House Machzorim with English and Russian translation, page announcements. All instructions and speeches are in both English and Russian. Held at 4541 19th Ave. NE, Seattle Contact Yechezkel Rapoport at 206-387-3919 or rabbi@evreyinseattle.org or evreyinseattle.org/Pages.aspx?Page=Shul Rosh Hashanah  eve: 7:20 p.m. Rosh Hashanah  day 1: 10 a.m. Mincha/Tashlich: 2 p.m. Rosh Hashanah  day 2: 10 a.m. Kol Nidre: 7 p.m. Yom Kippur  day: 9 a.m. Mincha: 5:30 p.m. Cost for services: Free. Chabad of the Central Cascades Traditional and inspirational services. Hebrew/English prayer books, warm and friendly atmosphere, no background or affiliation necessary. Held at 24121 SE Black Nugget Rd., Issaquah Contact Rabbi Berry Farkash at 425-427-1654 or rabbifarkash@gmail.com or http://www.chabadissaquah.com Rosh Hashanah eve: 7:15 p.m. Special Children’s Program Rosh Hashanah  day 1: Morning Services: 9:30 a.m. Shofar Sounding: 11:30 a.m. Tashlich Service: 7:15 p.m. Evening Services: 8:15 p.m. Rosh Hashanah  day 2: Morning Services: 9:30 a.m. Shofar Sounding: 11:30 a.m. Evening Services: 7:15 p.m. Kol Nidre:   7:15 p.m. Fast Begins at: 7:16 p.m. Yom Kippur  day: Morning Services: 9:30 a.m. Yizkor Memorial Service: 11:30 a.m. Afternoon Service: 5:30 p.m. Ne’ilah Closing Service: 7 p.m. Fast ends: 8 p.m., followed by light refreshments Cost: There is no charge for seats; your donation is greatly appreciated. Chabad at UW, Jewish Students Organization Celebrate the New Year with a traditional service in a warm and excepting environment. Kiddush lunch following all morning services. Held at Chabad House/AEPi basement, 4541 19th Ave. NE, Seattle Contact Rabbi Elie Estrin at 206-523-1359 or chabaduw@earthlink.net or http://www.jewishuw.com/highholidays Rosh Hashanah  eve: 7:30 p.m. Rosh Hashanah  day 1: Shacharit: 10 a.m. Shofar blowing: 12 p.m. Kiddush: 2 p.m. Rosh Hashanah  day 2: 10 a.m. Kiddush: 2 p.m., followed by Tashlich Kol Nidre: 7 p.m. Yom Kippur  day: Shacharit: 10 a.m. Mincha: 5:30 p.m. Ne’ilah: 6:30 p.m. Break-Fast: 8 p.m. Cost for services: Free, donations appreciated. Congregation Ezra Bessaroth Held at 5217 S Brandon St., Seattle, WA 98118 Contact Susan Jensen at 206-722-5500 or office@ezrabessaroth.com Selichot: Sundays, August 22, 29; Sept 5, and Sept.12 (all start at 5 a.m.) Rosh Hashanah  eve: 6:30 p.m. Rosh Hashanah  day 1: 8 a.m. Rosh Hashanah  day 2: 8 a.m. Kol Nidre:  7 p.m. Yom Kippur day: 8 a.m. Cost for services: $200 non-member, $100 visiting relatives of members. Note: The cost of non-member holiday seats may be applied toward dues for new members joining the congregation in 2011. Congregation Shaarei Tefillah Lubavitch Held at 6250 43rd Ave. NE, Seattle. Contact Rabbi Sholom Ber Levitin at 206-527-1411 or info@chabadofseattle.org Selichot: Sept. 4: 1:14 a.m. Sept. 5& 7: 6:40 a.m. Sept. 8: 6:20 a.m. Rosh Hashanah  eve: Mincha/Maariv: 7:18 p.m. Rosh Hashanah  day 1: Shacharis/Musaf: 9 a.m. Mincha/Maariv: 7:15 p.m. Rosh Hashanah  day 2: Shacharis: 9 a.m. Mincha/Maariv: 7:15 p.m. Kol Nidre: Mincha/Maariv: 7 p.m Yom Kippur day: Shacharis/Musaf: 8 a.m. Mincha/Ne’ilah/Maariv: 5:30 p.m. Cost for services: No charge Congregation Shevet Achim Held at Northwest Yeshiva High School, 5017 90th Ave. SE, Mercer Island. Contact info@shevetachim.com or 206-275-1539 or http://www.shevetachim.com Selichot: 11 p.m. Rosh Hashanah eve: Selichot services, followed by Shacharit: 6 a.m. Mincha followed by Maariv: 7:15 p.m. Rosh Hashanah day 1: Shacharit: 8:30 a.m. Shofar: 10:45 a.m. Mincha, followed by Tashlich: 6:45 p.m. Maariv: 8 p.m. Rosh Hashanah day 2: Shacharit: 8:30 a.m. Shofar: 10:45 a.m. Mincha and Kabbalat Shabbat Shuvah: 7 p.m. Maariv: 7:45 p.m. Kol Nidre: Selichot services: 6:30 a.m. Shacharit: 7 a.m. Mincha: 4 p.m. Kol Nidre/Maariv: 7 p.m. Yom Kippur Day: Shacharit: 8:30 a.m. Yizkor: 11:30 a.m. Mincha/Ne’ilah/Maariv:  6 p.m. Cost: No tickets required — non-member contributions appreciated. Eastside Torah Center – Chabad Traditional and contemporary services. Multi-lingual prayer book. Everyone is welcome. Held at1837 156th Ave. NE, Top Floor, Bellevue. Contact Rabbi Mordechai Farkash at 425-957-7860 or eastsidechabad@gmail.com Selichot: 11 p.m. Rosh Hashanah eve: 7 p.m. Rosh Hashanah day 1: 9:30 a.m. Rosh Hashanah day 2: 9:30 a.m. Kol Nidre: 7 p.m. Yom Kippur day: 9:30 a.m. Cost for services: No charge. Emanuel Congregation Services at Emanuel follow the traditional Nusach Ashkenaz Orthodox liturgy, using the ArtScroll Siddur. Led by Chazzan Boaz Pnini. Held at 3412 NE 65th St., Seattle. Contact Jay Wang at 206-633-1762 or wangjay@aol.com or http://www.emanuelcongregation.org Selichot: 10 p.m. Rosh Hashanah eve: 7 p.m. Rosh Hashanah day 1: 9:30 a.m. Rosh Hashanah day 2: 9:30 a.m. Kol Nidre: 6:15 p.m. Yom Kippur day: 9:30 a.m. until after sunset. Shacharit, Yizkor, Mincha, Ne’ilah, Ma’ariv Cost for services: No charges for services. Contributions greatly appreciated. West Seattle Torah Learning Center This is a “traditional” yet not traditional service! An explanatory service with insights and explanations into all facets of the prayers and service. Held at 5121 SW Olga St., West Seattle Contact Rabbi David Fredman at 206-251-4063 or rabbifredman@gmail.com or http://www.seattlekollel.org Rosh Hashanah eve: 7:25 p.m. Rosh Hashanah  day 1: 8:30 a.m. Rosh Hashanah  day 2: 8:30 a.m. Kol Nidre: 7:30 p.m. Yom Kippur  day: Morning Prayers: 9 a.m. Mussaf: 11 a.m. Mincha: 6 p.m. Ne’ilah: 7 p.m. Cost for services: Free. REFORM Bet Chaverim Held at 25701 14th Pl. South, Des Moines. Contact Rebecca Garcia at 253-720-5215 or rivsimchat@msn.com Rosh Hashanah  eve: 7:30 p.m. Rosh Hashanah  day: 10 a.m. Tashlich service immediately following service at Saltwater State Park Kol Nidre: 7:30 p.m. Yom Kippur  day: 10 a.m. Afternoon Service: 3 p.m. Yizkor: 4 p.m. Shofar Blowing and Break-Fast: 6 p.m. Cost: $50 minimum non-member donation is suggested per family to cover all services. Military personnel free at all times. Security provided by Des Moines Police Department. A picture I.D. may be required from adult non-members. Congregation Kol Ami Held at 16530 Avondale Rd. NE, Woodinville Contact 425-844-1604 or admin@kolaminw.org or http://www.kolaminw.org Rosh Hashanah  eve: 7:30 p.m. Rosh Hashanah  day 1: Children’s Service: 9 a.m. Service with Rabbi Mark Glickman: 10:30 a.m. Tashlich: 12 p.m. Kol Nidre  with Rabbi David Fine: 7:30 p.m. Yom Kippur  day: Children’s Service: 9 a.m. Service with Rabbi David Fine: 10:30 a.m. Afternoon Study and Meditation programs: 1:30 p.m. Afternoon Service: 3 p.m. Yizkor/Ne’ilah Service: 5:15 p.m. Break-Fast Potluck: 6:30 p.m. Cost: Donation of $50/night service, $75/day service, $250/all services, $200 if tickets purchased by 9/1 or if over 65 years. Please don’t let financial constraints keep you from joining them. Kol HaNeshamah Kol HaNeshamah is a vibrant, dynamic, warm and welcoming congregation. They are dedicated to inclusiveness, and active participation by members in the life and leadership of the community. Services will be held at Seattle First Presbyterian Church, 1013 Eighth Ave., Seattle. Rosh Hashanah eve: 7:30 p.m. Rosh Hashanah  day: Children’s Service: 9:30–10 a.m. Childcare Opens: 10 a.m. Morning Service: 10:30 a.m. Tashlich and Picnic at Madrona Park picnic shelter, 853 Lake Washington Blvd.: Following services. Kol Nidre: 7:30 p.m. Yom Kippur: Children’s Service: 9:30–10 a.m. Childcare Opens: 10 a.m. Morning Service: 10:30 a.m. Study Sessions: 2-4 p.m. Childcare Opens: 3:30 p.m. Mincha, Yizkor and Ne’ilah: 4 p.m., Break-Fast follows Cost: There is no cost to attend. Donations welcomed. Temple B’nai Torah Held at 15727 NE 4th St., Bellevue. Contact Melissa Bloom at 425-603-9677 or mbloom@templebnaitorah.org Selichot: 8 p.m. Jointly conducted with Temple De Hirsch Sinai Rosh Hashanah  Eve: Contemporary Service: 5 p.m. Traditional Service: 8 p.m. Rosh Hashanah  day: Traditional Service: 9 a.m. Youth Service (grades 1-6): 9 a.m. Teen Service (grades 7-12): 9 a.m. Contemporary Service: 12:30 p.m. Children’s & Family Service: 3 p.m. Kol Nidre: Contemporary Service: 5 p.m. Traditional Service: 8 p.m. Yom Kippur  day: Traditional Service 9 a.m. Youth Service (grades 1-6): 9 a.m. Teen Service (grades 7-12): 9 a.m. Contemporary Service: 12:30 p.m. Yom Kippur Study Session: 12:30 p.m. Children’s & Family Service: 3 p.m. Mincha: 4 p.m. Yizkor: 5 p.m. Nei’lah Concluding Service: 6 p.m. Congregational Break-Fast: 7 p.m. Cost: Suggested contribution is $200 per person. Temple De Hirsch Sinai Held at 1441 16th Ave., Seattle; 3850 156th Ave. SE, Bellevue. Contact Mimi Porad at 206-323-8486 or mimi@tdhs-nw.org or http://www.tdhs-nw.org Selichot: Joint service with Temple B’nai Torah at Temple B’nai Torah: 8 p.m. Rosh Hashanah eve: 7:30 p.m., at Seattle and Bellevue locations Rosh Hashanah day: 10 a.m., at Seattle and Bellevue locations Kol Nidre: 7:30 p.m., at Seattle and Bellevue locations Yom Kippur day: Morning Service: 10 a.m. Afternoon, Yizkor & Ne’ilah: 3 p.m. Cost: Non-member tickets available at $65 per service per person or all four services for $225/person. Free and open to the public Family Services on Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur at 1:30 p.m. in both locations. Temple Beth Am Held at 2632 NE 80th St., Seattle Contact Eila Amdur at 206-525-0915 or eila@templebetham.org or http://www.templebetham.org Selichot: Dessert: 8 p.m. Havdalah and Program: 8:30 p.m. Service: 9:30 p.m. Rosh Hashanah eve: Early service 6:30 p.m.–8 p.m. Late service 8:30 p.m.– 10 p.m. Rosh Hashanah day: Early service: 8:30–11 a.m., Late service: 11:45 a.m.–2:15 p.m. Children’s service (for families with children age 8 and under): 2:45–3:30 p.m. Tashlich: 4 p.m. at Matthews Beach, 9300 51st Ave. NE, Seattle Kol Nidre: Early service 6:30–8 p.m. Late service 8:30–10 p.m. Yom Kippur day: Early morning service: 8:30–11 a.m. Late morning service: 11:45 a.m.–2:15 p.m. Beit Midrash I: 10-11:30 a.m. Healing service: 11:30 a.m.–12:30 p.m. Beit Midrash II: 12–2 p.m. Teen service: 11:45 a.m.–1:30 p.m. Discussion program: 2:30-3:30 p.m. Children’s service (for families with children age 8 and under): 2:45–3:30 p.m. Afternoon, Memorial, Closing service: 3:45 p.m. Break-Fast: 7 p.m. Cost for services: Suggested donation of $200 for all 4 services. Advanced registration required. SECULAR/HUMANIST A secular humanist (non-theistic) celebration of the New Year. Contact 206-528-1944 or info@secularjewishcircle.org or secularjewishcircle.org Please call for location. Rosh Hashanah eve: 7-9 p.m. Tashlich Gathering: Sat., Sept. 11, 10 a.m. Kol Nidre: 7-9 p.m. Cost for services: For Rosh Hashanah: Members: Adults $15, children $8, childcare $5; non-members: First adult $45, additional adults $30, child $8, childcare $5 Secular Jewish Circle of Puget Sound STUDENTS/MULTI-DENOMINATIONAL/LGBTQ/SPECIAL NEEDS/SENIORS Hillel Foundation at the University of Washington/Jconnect Seattle Hillel UW offers traditional egalitarian services in Hebrew as well as a separate liberal service with music for the first day of Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur day. Services led by interim Greenstein Family Executive Director Jeremy Brochin, Jconnect Seattle director Rabbi Jacob Fine, Rabbi Stuart Light, Helen Bennett, Ben Gown and Keith Judelman. All services will include opportunities for prayer, singing, study and reflection. Held at the Karen Mayers Gamoran Family Center for Jewish Life, 4745 17th Ave. NE, Seattle. Contact 206-527-1997 or http://www.hilleluw.org/highholidays. Rosh Hashanah eve: 7 p.m. Jconnect and Undergrad Dinner: 8:15 p.m. Rosh Hashanah  day: Traditional Egalitarian Service: 9:30 a.m. Liberal Service: 10 a.m. Kol Nidre: 7 p.m. Yom Kippur: Traditional Egalitarian Service: 10 a.m. Liberal Service with Music: 10:30 a.m. Liberal Service Yizkor: 11:45 a.m.  Afternoon Activities: 2:30 p.m. Traditional Yizkor: 5:30 p.m. Mincha: 6 p.m. Learning: 7 p.m. Ne’ilah concluding service: 7:40 p.m. Holiday Ends/Havdalah: 8:29 p.m. Break-Fast: 8:30 p.m. Guests invited to bring a shofar for shofar blowing. Cost for services: Reservations are required. Student tickets are always free, suggested Jconnect ticket donation $54-$250, community $100-$250. The Kavana Cooperative Both deeply rooted in tradition (Hebrew liturgy) and user-friendly, with space for individual meditation, personal reflection, and community discussion. Held at Kavana’s headquarters in Queen Anne (contact for address). Contact Rabbi Rachel Nussbaum at 206-713-1953 or rabbi@kavana.org or http://www.kavana.org Rosh Hashanah  eve: 6:30 p.m. Rosh Hashanah  day 1: Services and Dawn Chanting (a.k.a. Psukei D’Zimra): 9 a.m. Family Program: 10 a.m. Rosh Hashanah  day 2: Services and Dawn Chanting: 9 a.m. Kol Nidre: 6:30 p.m. Yom Kippur  day: Services and Dawn Chanting: 9:30 a.m. Yizkor in the late morning Family program: 10 a.m. Book of Jonah study/discussion: 5 p.m. Ne’ilah service: 6:30 p.m. Final Shofar blast: 7:59 p.m. Cost for services: $180/person Shaarei Tikvah – A celebration of Rosh Hashanah for People of All Abilities Co-sponsored by: Jewish Family Service, the Seattle Association for Jews with Disabilities, Temple B’nai Torah and Temple De Hirsch Sinai Held at Temple De Hirsch Sinai, 1441 16th Avenue, Seattle. Contact Emily Harris-Shears at 206-861-8784 or familylife@jfsseattle.org Rosh Hashanah day 1, 4–6 p.m.,: A community wide non-denominational service for persons of all abilities. All are welcome to join them in prayer and celebration, and hear the sounding of the shofar. Led by Cantor David Serkin-Poole and special guests. ASL provided by a CI/CT interpreter. Kosher dietary laws observed. Cost for services: Free Congregation Tikvah Chadashah Congregation Tikvah Chadashah is a GLBT Jewish congregation. Chavurah-style holiday services led by members in a home setting. Contact Jack Fackerell at 206-355-1414 or ctc@tikvahchadashah.org or http://www.tikvahchadashah.org The will be holding services for Erev Rosh Hashanah, Rosh Hashanah Day, Kol Nidre and Yom Kippur (morning and afternoon). Check their Web site for additional information as it comes available. Cost: No cost. Bring a little dish to share for a break-fast potluck after closing services on Yom Kippur. THROUGHOUT WASHINGTON STATE ABERDEEN Temple Beth Israel Reform services led by Sandra Getter, small and welcoming congregation close to the beach. Community meals, break-fast at the temple. Held at Sumner & Martin Streets, Aberdeen. Contact Jane Goldberg at 360-533-5755 or momgoldberg@techline.com Rosh Hashanah eve: 7:30 p.m. Rosh Hashanah day: 10:30 a.m. Kol Nidre: 7:30 p.m. Yom Kippur day: 10:30 a.m. Cost for services: No cost, all are welcome BAINBRIDGE ISLAND Chavurat Shir Hayam Rabbi Hanna Tiferet Siegel will help lead their participatory, egalitarian, full High Holiday services themed “Ayeka? Where are You?” Phone for location, date and time of services: 206-842-8453 Cost: Guests welcome – they do not have tickets or charge for attending services Congregation Beth Hatikvah Services will be led by Rabbi Sarah Newmark and Cantorial Soloist Emily Katcher. A Reform Congregation with a service that is meaningful and traditional. Held at 11th and Veneta, Bremerton Contact Alisa Balk at 360-373-9884 or alisabalk@wavecable.com or http://www.beth-hatikvah.org Rosh Hashanah  eve: 7:30 p.m. Rosh Hashanah  day 1: 9:30 a.m. Rosh Hashanah  day 2: 9:30 a.m. Kol Nidre: 7 p.m. Yom Kippur  day: 9:30 a.m., return at 4:30 p.m. for afternoon service and Ne’ilah Cost: Suggested donation $150 Congregation Kol Shalom Held at 9010 Miller Road NE, Bainbridge Island. Contact Beth Schoenberg at 206-842-9010 or admin@kolshalom.net or http://www.kolshalom.net Rosh Hashanah  eve: 7 p.m. Rosh Hashanah  day: Children’s Service: 9 a.m. Shacharit: 10 a.m.., followed by Tashlich Kol Nidre: 7 p.m. Yom Kippur  day: Children’s service: 9 a.m. Shacharit: 10 a.m. Afternoon study session: 3:30 p.m. Yizkor, Ne’ilah, Havdalah following Cost: $250/person; reciprocity for members of other Reform synagogues. OLYMPIA The Chabad Jewish Discovery Center Warm and friendly atmosphere, traditional and inspiring service. Rosh Hashanah services held at: The Chabad Jewish Discovery Center, 1611 Legion Way SE, Olympia. Contact Rabbi Cheski Edelman at 360-584-4306 or rabbicheski@jewisholympia.com Rosh Hashanah  eve: 7 p.m., followed by a community Rosh Hashanah dinner Rosh Hashanah  day 1: 9 a.m. Rosh Hashanah  day 2: 9 a.m. Yom Kippur  Services held at: The Phoenix Inn Suites, 415 Capitol Way N, Olympia. Kol Nidre: 7 p.m. Yom Kippur  day: Morning Service: 9 a.m. Yizkor: 11:30 a.m. Afternoon Service: 5 p.m. Ne’ilah: 6:30 p.m. Light Refreshments Upon Conclusion of the Fast Cost for services: No membership fees or tickets. Congregation B’nai Torah CBT is a small congregation that provides a traditional Conservative High Holiday service with an emphasis on creating an appropriate spirit for the holidays. Held at 3437 Libby Rd. NE, Olympia Contact Stan Finkelstein at 360-438-1359 or stan.finkelstein@comcast.net or http://www.bnai-torah-olympia.org Rosh Hashanah  eve: 7:30 p.m. Rosh Hashanah  day 1: 9:30 a.m. Rosh Hashanah  day 2: 9:30 a.m. Kol Nidre: 6:30 p.m. Yom Kippur  day : 9:30 a.m. Cost for services: Free. Temple Beth Hatfiloh All services unless noted will be at Temple Beth Hatfiloh, 8th and Washington, downtown Olympia Contact Rabbi Seth Goldstein at 360-754-8519 or rabbi@bethhatfiloh.org or http://www.bethhatfiloh.org Selichot Film and discussion: 7:30 p.m. Rosh Hashanah  eve: 7 p.m. Rosh Hashanah  day 1: Meditation: 8:45 a.m. Morning Service: 9:30 a.m. Youth Service (ages 6-12): 9:30 a.m. Community Picnic: 12:30 p.m. at Heritage Park (Capitol Lake) Bring your lunch and some dairy/vegetarian food to share. Women’s Rosh Chodesh Circle: 3 p.m. at Heritage Park (Capitol Lake) Tot High Holiday Service (ages 0-5): 3 p.m. Tashlich: 4 p.m. Meet at TBH to walk to Percival Landing/Port Plaza Rosh Hashanah  day 2: Hike: 10:45 a.m. at Priest Point Park, Shelter #1 Text Study and Lunch: 12 p.m. Kol Nidre: 6:30 p.m. Yom Kippur  day: Meditation: 8:45 a.m. Morning Service9:30 a.m.Sanctuary Youth Service (ages 6-12)9:30 a.m.Chapel (Room 201/202) Yizkor (Memorial Service): 1:45 p.m. Study sessions: 3 p.m. Healing Service: 5 p.m. Mincha/Jonah discussion 6:15 p.m. Ne’ilah: 7 p.m. Havdalah/Communal Break-Fast: 8 p.m. PORT TOWNSEND Bet Shira Held at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, Jefferson and Tyler, Port Townsend Contact Barry Lerich at 360-379-3042 or betshira@yahoo.com Rosh Hashanah eve: 7 p.m. Rosh Hashanah  day 1: 10 a.m. Kol Nidre: 6:30 p.m. Yom Kippur  day: 10 a.m. Yizkor: 4:30 p.m. Closing and Break-Fast potluck (dairy/vegetarian): 5:30 p.m. Cost for services: No cost to attend, but donations from non-members appreciated. PULLMAN Washington State University Hillel, Jewish Community of the Palouse Services held by the Jewish Community of the Palouse. Community-led services. Students welcome. Held at Unitarian Universalist Church in Moscow, 420 E 2nd St., Moscow, Id. Contact Michael Kahn at 509-335-4563 or kahn@wsu.edu Rosh Hashanah  eve: 6:45 p.m., potluck reception to follow services. Please bring a sweet finger snack to share. Beverages provided. Rosh Hashanah  day 1: TBA Kol Nidre: 6:45 p.m. Yom Kippur  day: Yizkor, 5 p.m. Final shofar blast: 6:30 p.m., followed by a potluck “Break-fast.” Please bring a finger snack to share. Beverages provided. Cost for services: No cost. Bring food as appropriate. SPOKANE Congregation Emanu-El Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur services are conducted by Student Rabbi Sara Abrams and Cantorial Soloist Susand Windham. Held at Unitarian Universalist Church, 4340 W Fort George Wright Dr., Spokane Contact Rhonda-T Warren at 509-835-5050 or info@spokaneemanu-el.org or http://www.spokaneemanu-el.org Rosh Hashanah  eve: 7:30 p.m., with potluck following service Rosh Hashanah  day: Children’s Service: 9:30 a.m. Torah Service: 10 a.m. Tashlich: 1 p.m. Meet to carpool to location Kol Nidre:   7 p.m. Yom Kippur  day: 10 a.m. Group Discussion: 3 p.m. Memorial Service and Concluding Services: 4 p.m., followed by Break-Fast dairy-vegetarian potluck Cost for Services: All High Holy Days services are included in membership. Temple Beth Shalom (Conservative) Held at 1322 E 30th Ave., Spokane Contact Sharon Beltz at 509-747-3304, ext. 106 or administrator@spokanetbs.org Selichot: 11:30 p.m. Rosh Hashanah  eve: 7:30 p.m. Rosh Hashanah  day 1: 8 a.m. Evening service: 7 p.m. Rosh Hashanah  day 2: 8 a.m. Evening service: 7 p.m. Kol Nidre: 6:25 p.m. Yom Kippur  day: 9 a.m. Yizkor: 1:15 p.m. Havdalah, Shofar, and Break-Fast: 7:45 p.m. Cost: Reciprocal, or a suggested donation of $100 for non-members within 60 miles of Spokane, $50 for non-members more than 60 miles from Spokane. No charge for active military and families, and college students. TACOMA Chabad of Pierce County Hebrew/English prayerbooks, warm and friendly atmosphere, no background or affiliation necessary. Traditional and contemporary services, special children’s program. Held at the Professional Development Center Auditorium (Adjacent to Skyline Elementary School), 6501 N 23rd St., Tacoma Contact Rabbi Zalman Hebebr at 253-565-8770 or rabbi@chabadpiercecounty.com or http://www.chabadpiercecounty.com Rosh Hashanah  eve: 7 p.m. Rosh Hashanah  day 1: 9 a.m. Shofar Sounding: 11:30 a.m. Tashlich Service at Titlow Beach: 4:30 p.m. Evening Services: 7 p.m. Rosh Hashanah  day 2: 9 a.m. Shofar Sounding: 11:30 p.m. Evening Services: 7 p.m. Kol Nidre: 7 p.m. Fast begins: 7:14 p.m. Yom Kippur  day: 9:30 a.m. Yizkor Memorial Service: 11:30 a.m. Mincha and Ne’ilah: 5:30 p.m. Fast ends at 8:01 p.m., followed by a Break-Fast meal Cost for services: No charge for seats, but donations greatly appreciated. Advance reservations suggested. Temple Beth El Held at 5975 S 12th St., Tacoma. Contact Rabbi Bruce Kadden at 253-564-7101 or bkadden@templebethel18.org Selichot: 9:30 p.m. Rosh Hashanah eve: Family service: 5 p.m. Tot service: 6 p.m. Regular service: 8 p.m. Rosh Hashanah day 1: Family service: 9 a.m. Regular service: 10:30 a.m. Rosh Hashanah day 2: 10 a.m. Kol Nidre: Family service: 5 p.m. Tot service: 6 p.m. Regular service: 8 p.m. Yom Kippur day: Family service: 9 a.m. Morning service: 10:30 a.m. Study session: 1:30 p.m. Afternoon service: 3 p.m. Yizkor: 4:30 p.m., with Break-Fast to follow Cost: Adult pass: $300 includes seating at services where passes are required. Family pass: $500 for a family of two adults and children over 6. If the fee causes a financial hardship, please contact Rabbi Kadden. No one will be turned away because of need. Find the registration form for passes, a full service schedule and childcare registration form at http://www.templebethel18.org/high-holy-days/join-us. TRI-CITIES Congregation Beth Sholom Rabbi Jack Izakson, formerly of Temple Beth Shalom, Spokane, will be leading services. Mid-Columbia Jews and visitors welcome. Held at 312 Thayer Dr., Richland Contact Debbie Greene at 509-735-1149 or ggreene487@hotmail.com or richland.uscjhost.net Rosh Hashanah eve: 7 p.m. Rosh Hashanah day 1: 9:30 a.m. Children’s Service: 10 a.m Tashlich: 5 p.m. Howard Amon Park & Lee Blvd – water’s edge Evening Services: 7 p.m. Rosh Hashanah day 2: 9:30 a.m. Dairy Potluck and Shabbat Services: 6 p.m. Kol Nidre: 6:30 p.m. Yom Kippur day: 9:30 a.m. Children’s Service: 10 a.m. Yizkor: 11 a.m. Study session w/Rabbi Jack: 4 p.m. Concluding Services: 5:15 p.m. Community Break-Fast :7:15 p.m. Cost for services: No Cost Recently Added: he Jewish Community of Wenatchee is holding High Holiday services in Leavenworth. Rosh Hashanah services will be followed with Tashlich at the Wenatchee River. Yom Kippur services include Kol Nidre at 7:30 PM and a full day of services and break the fast meal. Rabbi Charna Klein is the service leader. For further information you may call Alex and Amanda at (509) 548-3466. 2010-08-24T18:36:28+00:00 http://jew-ish.com/index.php?/stories/item/road_warrior/ http://jew-ish.com/index.php?/stories/item/road_warrior/#When:18:02:00Z Emma Epstein, 23, is cycling from Washington D.C. to Seattle to raise money for a Jewish service organization. Emma Epstein’s rules of the road (two-wheel division) explores topics ranging from patching flat tires to eating properly (hard-boiled eggs get a nod) to surviving the bug wars. “Even if at the beginning, you think, oh well I will be biking sooo fast that the bugs won’t get to me ... well you are dead wrong,” she wrote in a recent blog post, adding: “When the going gets dull, literally and you feel like taking your sunglasses off for lack of sun. DON’T! Those darn bugs that coated your chest will only start to pelt you in the eyeballs ... .” Epstein, 23, now has ample opportunity to encounter the insect world at high speed, feel the burn from screaming quads and experience whatever other challenges surface on a transcontinental bicycle tour. The Washington, D.C. resident is leading a 3,100-mile trek, which began last week following a breakfast sendoff at the Washington DC Jewish Community Center. The terminus is Seattle, Epstein’s hometown. The bike tour is her way of raising awareness of and money for Avodah: The Jewish Service Corps, an organization that places young adults in full-time jobs at nonprofit agencies to fight poverty, build communities and otherwise live Jewish values. Avodah is endorsing the trip. Just prior to her ride, Epstein completed her year of Avodah service, which she fulfilled by working at the CAIR (Capital Area Immigrants Rights) Coalition, a DC-based organization committed to ensuring that “all immigrants are treated with fairness, dignity and respect for their human and civil rights.” Epstein hopes to raise about $18,000 through pledges and other contributions, and has taken in about $2,000 so far. Proceeds from the tour will be used primarily to underwrite program costs at Avodah’s District operation, which has been forced to trim some initiatives due to dwindling donations. (The organization also operates in Chicago, New Orleans and New York.) “It’s pretty courageous of her to do this,” said Elissa Oshinsky of Bethesda, Md. a member of Avodah’s D.C. advisory council, who has contributed to Epstein’s rolling fund-raiser, known officially as AVODAHcycle. “It sounds like a good investment of her time, but it’s a pretty bold step. I bike 35 miles a day and that’s a lot.” “Emma’s a very enthusiastic, committed and inspiring person,” said Washington resident and Avodah alumna Rivka Burstein-Stern, 26, who grew up with Epstein in Seattle. “She’s taking action, which is what we’re taught to do in Avodah.” Epstein said the idea for a cross-country trip began germinating about a year ago when she learned that a group of Oregonians were planning to bike from their home state to the “other” Washington. “I would have loved to do it,” she explained, but “wanted it to have a greater purpose.” To help fulfill that purpose, Epstein plans to discuss Avodah’s work — and how it has helped shape her values in a profound way — when she meets with Jewish groups and others along the way. “Growing up in Seattle,” she said, “I went to protests and helped at a food bank, but until Avodah, I had never really based that in something greater, like religious values.” Her itinerary includes stops in Chicago; Fairfield, Iowa; Omaha; Denver and San Francisco. In Pittsburgh, she plans to talk about Avodah during a dessert reception program dubbed “Sweets, Cycles and Social Justice” to be held at the home of a local rabbi. She hopes to blog about her exploits as frequently as possible (she’ll have a blog at http://www.washingtonjewishweek.com). Although she will be put up for the night by her various hosts, Epstein also plans to camp out when such accommodations are not available. A friend from Seattle, 24-year-old J.P. Sauerlender, is accompanying her for the entire trip. A co-worker at the CAIR Coalition, Alli Van Beek, 23, is riding with them from D.C. to Chicago, Van Beek’s home. Epstein said roughly 200 people turned down her e-mail invitation for them to accompany her on AVODAHcycle, usually citing the demands of a full-time job. “I remember one person said, “Good luck to you and your legs,’ ” she recalled with a chuckle. “When else could I do this?” Epstein hopes to average 60 miles a day (riding only a half-day on Shabbat), which would put her in Seattle in roughly 10-11 weeks, including rest stops. She has been building her endurance through a training regimen. Her longest bike ride thus far was a recent trek to and from Harpers Ferry, 120 miles round-trip in two days. Asked about her mindset as launch day nears, Epstein said: “I’m a little nervous.” But pretrip preparations “have definitely consumed my life. Any trepidations might be hidden under my activity.” And after the trip? “I don’t know,” she said. “I’ll probably spend a month or so at my parents’ getting some rest and thinking about the next step.” 2010-08-23T18:02:00+00:00 http://jew-ish.com/index.php?/stories/item/a_much-needed_discussion/ http://jew-ish.com/index.php?/stories/item/a_much-needed_discussion/#When:20:21:58Z OSF’s production of The Merchant of Venice with Jewish Shylock sparks community conversationSalanio’s imitation of Shylock in Shakespeare’s The Merchant of Venice makes any modern theatergoer cringe: “I never heard a passion so confused, / So strange, outrageous, and so variable, / As the dog Jew did utter in the streets: / ‘My daughter! O my ducats! O my daughter! / Fled with a Christian! O my Christian ducats!” To the passive Shakespeare fan, what is The Merchant of Venice other than an embarrassing but excusable relic of Elizabethan England? To the Jew, what is it other than the rehashing of a hateful past and an opportunity for its return? To the Oregon Shakespeare Festival and the Ashland Jewish community, however, it is a chance for much-needed discussion. The Merchant of Venice was featured at the first Oregon Shakespeare Festival 75 years ago and has been performed 13 times over the festival’s history. When artistic director Bill Rauch considered putting it on this anniversary year, seasoned actor and Jewish community member Anthony Heald was vocally opposed. But in an ironic turn of events, when Rauch announced his decision to produce the play, Heald himself volunteered for the role of Shylock. “You have a more positive response from the Jewish community when Shylock is played by a Jew,” said Heald, the first Jewish Shylock in the festival’s 75-year history. “There is a Jewish sensibility that forms the character of Shylock.” Shakespeare’s comic foil, drawn from medieval European stereotypes, earned legendary status as the archetypical wicked Jew. Though Shylock the character is complex and tormented, a victim of his society and of himself, Shylock the stereotype is, at worst, a greedy, flesh-eating Christ killer. Over the centuries Shylock’s name has been conjured to foment Jewish stereotypes. In 1920,  Democracy or Shylocracy? warned readers of Jewish financial power and corruption, and in 1933 The Merchant of Venice was performed at least 20 times in Germany. When the Festival produced the play in 1991, the Ashland Jewish community reacted with anger. “This time, Bill was very receptive to setting up what I thought would be a good series of programs for the Jewish community,” said Rabbi Marc Sirinsky of Ashland’s Temple Emek Shalom. Sirinsky has built a strong relationship with the festival since he joined the congregation 16 years ago. Emek Shalom held discussions with Rauch and Heald to work through the challenges of putting on the play. Due to the presence of the festival in Ashland, the community is highly literate in Shakespeare’s works. “We opened it to the community with a lot of publicity. The synagogue was packed,” said Sirinsky. “The questions they asked were really quite lovely to behold.” While dissenters exist, the majority of the Jewish community in Ashland supports the production and Heald’s performance as Shylock. “I have automatic credibility that, frankly, a non-Jew would not have,” Heald said. “There is a wide variety of viewpoints in the sanctuary,…but the comments I got were so supportive.” “Would I prefer it not to be done? I would, in some ways,” confessed Sirinsky. “But in some ways it opens up the discussion that would not be held if there was not the impetus to have that discussion.” This impetus for discussion has been a driving force behind the support for the production. “I’ve had numerous discussions about anti-Semitism as a result of The Merchant of Venice being done here,” said Sirinsky. “I don’t think those conversations would have been had or had been relevant if this play wasn’t being done.” Among the conversations taking place is one about religious freedom. “It struck me that it’s not a play about Judaism,” said Heald. “It’s a play about being an outsider…and what it does to a person.” Sirinsky sees Shylock’s victimization as not confined to anti-Semitism, but extending to all cases of social inequality and repression. Shylock’s struggle relates to global struggles for religious freedom. He relates it to the current controversy surrounding plans to build a mosque near Ground Zero. “It’s a very related issue,” Sirinsky said. “I feel that we live in a country that is committed to freedom of expression. The proposed Muslim Community Center is two blocks away from Ground Zero on private property. Is it okay for Muslims to build a mosque in a community center that will serve people of all religions? Yes, in the same way Jews need the right to build synagogues and JCCs.” Sirinsky adds that the issues plaguing Elizabethan England “are not gone. People still stereotype one another. They still don’t trust each other. If neighbors can’t trust each other, neighbors can’t respect each other, then how do we expect people to do it in places in the world that have much more difficulties than we do?” Expanding Shylock’s experience from the individual Jewish level to the universal level helps steer conversations about The Merchant of Venice away from the usual aesthetic traps. Heald, Sirinsky, and Ashland-based Shakespeare scholar Liz Eckhart avoid focusing on the play’s inherent anti-Semitism, authorship, or its function as an art form with an excusable offense. Each stresses the importance of interpretation and moving forward. “Judaism teaches that nothing is inherently good or bad,” said Sirinsky. “It’s what you do with it that makes it good or bad. The play is just written words. It’s what we do with them.” “When we struggle with Shylock from our modern position, when we read in sympathy with him and argue with the terms of the play, we’re trying to take apart the structure of prejudice and oppression that we still struggle with today,” Eckhart said in an e-mail statement. “I don’t read the play despite its anti-Semitism: I read it because it’s anti-Semitic, because anti-Semitism must be confronted and taken apart, and this is best done by the people with the most to lose.” “After all,” said Sirinsky, “this is a play. If we can’t wrestle with the ideas of a play, how can we wrestle with real differences? I believe that plays are done to provoke, to make people think.” Heald uses his acting skills to bring out the necessary comic antagonism in Shylock, as well as to elicit sympathy in his struggle. “As we see him driving headlong over a cliff, we want to reach out,” he explained. The blocking reflects Heald’s interpretation of Shylock’s experience. For instance, when Shylock falls apart at the end, Heald chose to exit stage left with his back to the audience. The effect is like “a huge balloon that the air is slowly going out of.” Sirinsky is content with the quality of discussion educed by the performance. He thinks people who have wanted to grow from the experience have probably grown, and those who have wanted to be angry have probably remained angry. As the Torah says to seek out blessing, Sirinsky believes that “the people that looked for the blessing in the production of this play have found blessings.” 2010-08-17T20:21:58+00:00 http://jew-ish.com/index.php?/stories/item/what_should_we_do_about_bds/ http://jew-ish.com/index.php?/stories/item/what_should_we_do_about_bds/#When:21:04:03Z Unless we start coming up with solutions, the movement to sideline Israel is just going to continue to growThere’s going to come a time in the not-so-distant future that the news of a food cooperative or some company deciding to boycott Israel isn’t going to make the front page of the JTNews. And if the past year is any indication, these events aren’t going to lose front-page status because the issue is going to disappear. It’s going to be because it happens so often, the issue is going to be become routine. Oh, look, there goes another one. So what do we do about this? The first thing we need to do is understand that people on the different sides of this issue are not speaking the same language. Earlier this summer Ethan Felson, director of domestic concerns of the Jewish Council of Public Affairs, an umbrella group for Jewish public policy organizations, spoke at a conference I attended about boycotts against Israel. “We are excellent at coming up with the self-resonating messages,” he said. “We know what they need to hear. And we are very, very good at writing that letter to the editor and showing it to our spouse and saying, ‘Doesn’t that work?’ and then hearing exactly what we want to hear, not necessarily knowing that the person who reads it might be looking for something different.” It says something when letters I see in the Seattle Times defending Israel exemplify that and do nothing to further the argument in Israel’s favor. Where many of us see the existence of a Jewish homeland as something embedded in our DNA, plenty of others, even in religious communities, see a nation with the upper hand hell-bent on keeping an underdog in its place. There’s generally not context attached to the images, but there’s a growing consensus, even among Jews — especially among Jews — that what Israel is doing with the Palestinians needs to change. That probably explains why the organizations promoting BDS — that now-ubiquitous acronym of boycott, divestment and sanctions — are so quick to point out the Jews in their midst. Felson suggests finding common ground with people on the other side of this issue: Peace, personal stories, shared values, and giving context by moving the conversation from occupation to terrorism. In essence, acknowledging the concern about the offense while justifying the defense. But the effort of personal contact might not be enough. People have to be willing to listen. Let’s think about local efforts at BDS and how, until last month, they had been unsuccessful. This is important, because it isn’t a story of right over might, as one would hope. It’s a story of procedure undoing passion. But make no mistake: People who feel a sense of attachment to Israel are starting to see ourselves on the losing end of this battle. Consider what was probably the biggest local effort thus far, Initiative 97. That effort in 2008 would have forced the City of Seattle’s retirement board to divest from some companies that do business with Israel. Caterpillar, the heavy equipment company that sells its products to the Israeli Defense Forces, was on that list, “which is quite remarkable because Caterpillar operates under U.S. anti-boycott laws,” Felson noted. “Caterpillar can’t not sell to Israel. And so they chastise Caterpillar for operating within the law.” I-97 was thrown out due to a jurisdictional issue. Then there’s the Central Co-op boycott resolution, which never even made it to a vote before the board tossed it out — because the phone calls and e-mails to the store had gotten so voluminous the issue had begun to get in the way of what the co-op is first and foremost supposed to be doing: Selling food. But here’s the common thread: When these efforts, and the many others like it, failed, it was because of procedural mistakes or unnecessary burdens on business. Just because the boycott failed does not mean the people who ended the effort agree with Israel’s behavior. And when the co-op board was getting annoyed about this issue, it became immediately clear that their annoyance wasn’t with the people supporting the boycott. A month ago, in Minnesota, Israel supporters got (another) reprieve when language in a resolution presented to attendees at the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church would have recommended sanctions and divestment against Israel. The recommendations were made by a committee that accused Israel of apartheid tactics and would have asked the U.S. to withhold funding “as a means of pressuring Israel,” according to a report by the JTA news service. This is, I don’t have to remind you, a mainline American Christian church, with tens of millions of members and churches on almost as many corners as Starbucks. That brings us to Olympia. Last month, when the board there voted almost unanimously to take the handful of Israeli products they have off their shelves, the BDS supporters finally got a victory. As small as the Olympia Food Co-op is, the echo from the first domino finally falling reverberated around the world. The co-op is holding a meeting next week to discuss the issue — kind of the backward way of doing things — and the way this democratic organization so proudly stifled an open discussion before the vote runs counter to cooperative principles established nearly 80 years ago. The conditions set for repeal are, as one opponent of the decision put it, a complete “dissolution of Israel’s Jewish character.” Between the hard lines drawn on both sides will be, I hope, the glimmer of understanding about why boycotting an entire country, as opposed to a corporation, for example, is such a bad idea: It’s futile to pressure a government, which is looking at more than the bottom line, to change its ways because a store 10,000 miles away is refusing to sell bulk couscous. Not to mention that doing so doesn’t solve any problems. For Israeli officials, Felson said, “divestment is another fly in the ointment. They’re used to Israel being criticized.” But the BDS movement is growing, and both sides are doing so much “educating” that it really is getting harder and harder to know who exactly is telling the truth, and what one nugget of fact means when taken in a greater context. Most of us just don’t have the time or inclination to parse out each detail and figure out how exactly to combat what doesn’t sound quite right, though we just don’t know why. And then we scratch our heads when yet another co-operative, that bastion of progressive capitalism and democracy, decides to banish from its shelves the products from a capitalist, democratic country. So the question for us American Jews is, what are we going to do about it? Are we going to continue to play defense and merely monitor the situation or are we going to get in front of it — not with “educational materials” and historical facts, but with engagement and attempts to move the conversation forward? A slap on the wrist in the form of a boycott does just the opposite. But the continual black eyes Israel is receiving in the press are beginning to take its toll, and a large number of us are beginning to lose patience. 2010-08-11T21:04:03+00:00 http://jew-ish.com/index.php?/stories/item/ask_an_agnostic_rabbi/ http://jew-ish.com/index.php?/stories/item/ask_an_agnostic_rabbi/#When:20:57:50Z What’s God got to do with it?Q: My husband and I have decided to start a family, but we’re having something of a disagreement about how many children we want. I like just one, but my husband says that since there are so few Jews in the world, it is our duty to at least replace ourselves with two children, if not help add to the population by having three or four or even five. What do you think is the right number of kids for our Jewish household? A: First off, let me say how much I appreciate you involving me in this, perhaps the most important question of your adult life (second to how much money you should give to Federation, of course). As we were all taught in religious school when we were ourselves young, the bearing of children is a sacred act; one that ought only be entered into between a man and a woman and a rabbi who love each other very much. Since the Shoah, which decimated much of the world’s Jewish population, there has been a major push (pardon the pun) in some Jewish circles to recoup those lost numbers. Indeed, in certain neighborhoods of Jerusalem and New York, many families are clearly trying make up the remaining deficit in Jews all by themselves. And to them I say, mazel tov! The way I see it, you can never have too many Jewish kids running around. My own 23 children (not all from the same mother, or, in three cases, the same father) have been my life’s greatest blessings. But I understand that producing a gaggle of offspring may not be desirable, or even feasible, for everyone.    To that end, I have devised the following equation for determining the perfect number of children for your family: Begin by taking your mean annual household income for the last three years and dividing it by the tuition costs for your local Jewish day school. Add two kids for each of your parents and in-laws who are still alive and available for babysitting. Multiply this by the number of Ivy League schools to which you and your spouse have collectively attended. If this figure has grown frighteningly large, take the square root. If you are not yet concerned, add two more kids. Divide by the number of times you have gone square dancing. Multiply by the number of summers you spent at Jewish camp. Add one more for good luck. This is how many children you should have.  Then divide the figure by five. This is number of Ford Windstars or Dodge Caravans you will need to transport your brood. According to my calculations, I ideally should have had 0.75 children. I may have done some miscalculations somewhere. On an unrelated note, please contact me if you are interested in purchasing 4.6 mini vans, well-used.  Q: Is the Torah really the word of God? I used to believe that it was, but now I’m not so sure. A: Let me answer your question with a question. Do the words of the Torah change if they are written by “God” rather than by human beings? If your answer is “yes,” then I suggest you put the holy book down and go read a Dan Brown novel or something. The power of the Torah is not in its Godliness. Its power is in its content. Think about it. No matter who wrote it, the Torah contains the same fascinating stories (even after all these years Sodom and Gomorrah still gets me twitterpated) and the same sage advice. (Where else can one find a good recipe for burnt offering?) The truths it holds are not subject to change based on the fluctuating biography of the author. Would “King Lear” be any less compelling if it were written by the Countess of Pembroke in drag rather than the alleged Mr. Shakespeare? I think not. So when it comes to the Torah, frankly, I just don’t see what God’s got to do with it. Q: Are interfaith marriages really going to be the death of Judaism? I like my girlfriend a lot but I’m afraid of things getting too serious because she’s Christian and I don’t want to be personally responsible for destroying the last vestiges of Jewish peoplehood if she and I were to get married. A: My first two wives were both Jewish and our common faith seemed to do little to overcome our very different feelings regarding monogamy. In both cases, there were unrealistic expectations. I’m just not a one-woman kind of rabbi, if you must know. My current wife (#5 for those keeping count), however, is a gal of Lutheran descent and we see very much eye-to-eye on the most crucial of marital issues. Ditto for my mistress (who is a Zoroastrian). My point? Marriage is hard. If you find somebody you can make it work with, Jewish or not, you are to be congratulated. In the name of Hashem, who may or may not exist, you have my blessing to get all lovey-dovey with this shiksa.  2010-08-11T20:57:50+00:00 http://jew-ish.com/index.php?/stories/item/tweet_tweet/ http://jew-ish.com/index.php?/stories/item/tweet_tweet/#When:07:12:43Z Important message: This story has nothing to do with Twitter. It's about serious musicians who open explorations between black and Jewish communities. Genre-bending bands are nothing new. For decades The Clash fused punk with reggae. The Pogues have similarly drawn on punk rock energy to deliver their interpretations of Irish pub music. In the past decade or so, we have seen an increasing number of bands that have fused both Ashkenazi and Sephardi with more commercial music. In most cases, the music borrows the beats and/or melodies from traditional forms of popular music, and the Jewish component is found in the language of the signing and/or themes of the songs. The resulting product thus appeals primarily to a Jewish audience with an appreciation for popular music. Tweet, Tweet, Abraham Inc.’s debut release, defies this trend. The band, which bills this album as an “all-out klezmer-funk dance party,” combines funk, klezmer, hip hop and jazz in a way that is neither Jewish nor black, and fans of any of these genres, especially funk and klezmer, would find this album pure candy for the ears. This supergroup consists of long established klezmer clarinetist David Krakauer, trombonist Fred Wesley, whose bona fides include work with James Brown and George Clinton, and Socalled, whose meshing of hip hop and Ashkenazi traditions have been reviewed in these pages previously. The sound is rounded out by a more-than-able backing band and guest vocalists. The album opens with the title track, which finds Krakauer’s clarinet and Wesley’s trombone exchanging solos supported by a grooving beat. Socalled and guest rapper C Rayz Walz add energy and flavor. It is clear from the start that while these musicians are clearly serious about their work, they are also having some pretty serious fun, which shines through and is contagious. The album continues with the instrumental “Moskowitz Mix,” which finds Krakauer’s clarinet kvetching of a disco beat. Vocals take center stage on “It’s Not the Same (Figure It Out),” featuring C Rayz Walz on the mic followed by “The H Tune,” a tricked-out version of “Hava Nagila” — sung gospel-style. Wesley takes the lead on the festive “Trombonic,” before things slow down on “Push” and “Baleboste: A Beautiful Picture.” The latter of these, a meditation praising the role of strong women, can also be heard on Socalled’s Ghettoblaster (2007) but without C Ray Walz’s crafty rhymes. “Fred the Tzadik” follows, not surprisingly featuring Wesley soloing over a funky disco beat with Krakauer sneaking around in the background and on breaks. The album ends with “Abe Inc Techno Mix.” True to its name, this track would probably be better suited for the dance floor than this otherwise coherent album. It’s not all that bad (for a club mix anyway) — it just doesn’t seem to fit with the feel of the rest of the album. Sonically, this album is solid, if not brilliant. Culturally, however, it is much more relevant. While there are many things that define Jewish and black communities and make each one unique, this album illustrates that there is still much territory to explore and promote dialogue and collaboration between the two communities. As Socalled writes on the band’s Web site, Abraham Inc. is about “bringing people together with music, celebrating differences and commonalities… Cultural hybrid vigour in yo’face.” There really is no better way to put it. 2010-08-03T07:12:43+00:00 http://jew-ish.com/index.php?/stories/item/the_jew-ish_interview_say_something_funny/ http://jew-ish.com/index.php?/stories/item/the_jew-ish_interview_say_something_funny/#When:06:59:24Z Author Jonathan Tropper riffs on really screwed-up families — though not his ownAuthor Jonathan Tropper, whose bestselling This is Where I Leave You just came out in paperback, doesn’t try to be funny. But that didn’t keep this novel about a family that comes together to sit shiva after the death of its patriarch — a serious subject if anyone can think of one — from being laugh-out-loud hilarious. Piled on top of the mourning came infidelity, infertility and, given another day or so in familiar captivity, near-infanticide. Tropper spoke with Jew-ish.com just before his July 28 reading at Elliott Bay Books. Jew-ish.com: You’ve got a few books under your belt. What’s the career of Jonathan Tropper? Jonathan Tropper: This is my fifth novel. Of the five I’ve written it’s the first one of that has any kind of Jewish content in it. It was a plot device that worked, I didn’t have any larger comment about shiva or grieving or mourning or religion, it was just that I needed a way to keep these characters together for a week that otherwise wouldn’t last more than a few hours in each other’s company. So I used the shiva as a contrivance. In my other four books, they’re all kind of about men coming to terms with their lives and relationships and family in that upper-middle-class social pressure that pushed them in one direction until they realized probably a little too late that wasn’t necessarily where they needed to be. There’s something very Jewish about that, too, even though there wasn’t anything Jewish in those books. I was actually a little nervous about using the shiva, wondering if that would greatly diminish the readability of the book to a broader audience, but it turned out to have the opposite effect. This book has done significantly better than my other ones. Jew-ish: Have you found that with these different audiences you speak to that something different resonates? Tropper: I think everyone, Jews, non-Jews alike, just relates to this family. There are enough siblings, and the mother, and their histories and their inability to get past things in their youth — it’s kind of like striking gold if you hit that right family nerve that so many people just feel, “God, that’s like my family, or maybe not like my family but I could see how my family could be like that.” Jew-ish: So is your family like that? Tropper: No, they’re not. Mine’s much more boring. Jew-ish: The vibe of the remembrance really had an old, institutional feel, like that ’60s and ’70s Conservative tradition. Why that? Tropper: This is a family that grew up with nothing. Their father was an atheist, and they don’t relate to this all. They weren’t going to go and observe an Orthodox shiva, but at the same time, I didn’t want to go too far away from what the basic traditions were. Portraying it in this kind of novel waters it down enough, and I didn’t want to make it a shiva that had zero ritual and kind of just lose the meaning what a shiva is. I had to give them some kind of structure. So yeah, it does probably feel like something right in the middle there, like a Conservative shiva, seven days, not three, and stuff like that. Jew-ish: Everything kept building on everything – you could really feel like you were sitting in that house as the tension grew. Was there any sort of experience in your life you drew from to create this experience? Tropper: Not really. The goal was to create these five characters – the mother and her four kids – and put them in this pressure cooker where no one can leave, and that is going to build. The resentments are going to build, the tensions are going to build, and in what some of them are going through, whether it’s [narrator Judd’s] wife’s infidelity or Alice’s infertility, or Wendy or the mom and her situation and obviously these people are going to be stepping over each other until something explodes. Jew-ish: I was cracking up throughout your book, but I gave it to some female friends and they didn’t appreciate it as much. Is this what you’re seeing in your experience? Tropper: I have significantly more female fans than male fans, because I think that’s the balance of who reads novels. I’ve heard very positive feedback from females. I’ve heard one or two who were a little scared — “Do men really think like that?” And it’s on purpose that the main character here sexualizes every woman he meets because he’s grappling with, in a sense, the loss of his own manhood. His wife was sleeping with another man for 14 months, so he’s trying to rediscover that. So no, I haven’t found that actually. Jew-ish: So when you’ve written a novel that gets people to laugh, do you often run into people who demand that you say something funny? Tropper: When I talk and I read and I answer questions and stuff, I do try to be funny and get some laughs and engage people, but when people say, “Oh, you should have been a standup comic,” they don’t understand that writing humor and delivering it are two very different things. I have plenty of time to go back and hone my lines over and over again until they’re exactly the way I want them to be. I do chafe a little bit when people call it a comic novel, because I don’t think of it as a comic novel. That’s just how I write. The comedy facilitates a certain brutal honesty. You can admit certain things, you can examine certain things, and make them more palatable with a little bit of humor. Jew-ish: Is that your experience with your own family? Maybe it’s an East Coast New York thing. I’ve always felt myself more an observer than a participant, which I think a lot of writers feel. I notice a lot and I take in a lot, and it registers, and I save it and at some point it comes out in the writing. When I’m really heavy in a novel I’ll sometimes get ideas in the middle of the night and literally leave myself voice mails. And then the next day I’ll turn on my phone and I’ll have three voicemails, and they’ll all be from me. Just reminding myself of ideas or phrases or things I want to say or a character to do or things like that. Jew-ish: And your wife is like, “Shut the hell up, I’m trying to sleep”? Tropper: No, she sleeps through a lot. 2010-08-03T06:59:24+00:00 http://jew-ish.com/index.php?/stories/item/beyond_the_pink_ribbon/ http://jew-ish.com/index.php?/stories/item/beyond_the_pink_ribbon/#When:06:58:42Z Cancer survivor works to help others facing the dreaded diseaseIn the early days of Rochelle Shoretz’s first cancer diagnosis, the 28-year-old mother of two struggled to find someone else to talk to. “I found myself asking anyone who called to offer support, whether they knew of another young Jewish woman who had breast cancer,” she said. “More than the meals, more than the rides, more than baby-sitting, I really needed other young people So Shoretz created Sharsheret, an organization that provides support for Jewish women with breast cancer. Six months after starting Sharsheret, Hebrew for chain, Shoretz had added more than 20 “links” and had begun to attract the attention of national cancer organizations. The centerpiece of Sharsheret’s 10 offerings is the Link program, in which women affected by breast cancer can act as a peer supporter to others. “For a young woman facing breast cancer, the notion of connecting over the telephone with other peers at a time and place that is convenient and private is critical,” Shoretz said. Shoretz spoke with JTNews during a visit to Seattle in July. The effort to see Jewish women supported through breast cancer led Shoretz to make the Seattle trip, with the hope of seeing the program Sharsheret Supports brought to the area. Sharsheret Supports seeks to partner with organizations and agencies already existing in a region, and to offer assistance in the creation of locally aimed programs and materials sensitive to the needs of Jewish women dealing with breast and, more recently, ovarian cancer. Marjorie Schnyder of Jewish Family Service met with Shoretz during her visit. “One of the things we looked into six or seven years ago is Jewish healing programs nationally,” Schnyder said. “We got a lot of calls about people looking for support for chronic and serious illnesses, and we did some strategic planning to see if we needed to expand our programming.” Project Misheberach was a pilot program at JFS to explore programs supporting the ill. During the pilot, they discovered the work Sharsheret was doing, and they finally had a chance to connect in July. Schnyder said JFS looks forward to working with Sharsheret in the future. In the past year alone, Sharsheret has seen 75 inquiries from Washington State for requests of materials or support concerning breast cancer, Shoretz said. The recent addition of ovarian cancer to Sharsheret programming is both an outgrowth of a new strategic plan for the organization and genetics issues faced in the realm of cancer support. “Jewish women of Ashkenazi descent who carry a mutation in the BRCA1 or BRCA2 gene are at increased risk of developing both breast and ovarian cancer,” Shoretz said. “One in 40 Jewish women of Ashkenazi descent carries the mutation.” Carriers of the BRCA mutations have as high as an 80 percent chance of developing breast cancer in their lifetimes. With the added risk of ovarian cancer that comes with the mutation, Sharsheret’s strategic plan called for an expansion of programming to address the risk of ovarian cancer in the Jewish population. Though hereditary breast and ovarian cancers are a small percentage of all cases, Sharsheret also has a Genetics For Life program that addresses the concerns of Jewish women and families, making it possible to consult with a genetics counselor, free of charge, to weigh both familial risks and options. “There are a lot of questions that Jewish families face when considering genetic counseling, and genetic testing,” Shoretz said. The organization is ultimately unique, Shoretz said, because “There are unique ways in which Jewish families are affected by a breast or ovarian cancer diagnosis, and Sharsheret is the only national organization that can address those unique needs.” Shoretz gave examples of how the High Holidays or use of the mikvah brings questions and concerns into the life of patients that had never before been present. In 10 years, Sharsheret has fielded more than 19,000 requests for help. The New Jersey-based organization has helped women across the United States with its diverse programming, and has remained in operation primarily from the contributions of individual donors. When asked where she hoped Sharsheret will be in 10 years, Shoretz was both hopeful and pragmatic. “My real hope is that there isn’t a need for Sharsheret, that breast cancer has been cured,” she said. But if there is that need, she hopes “Sharsheret is there to support those Jewish women and families who may have before our founding felt alone in their fight against breast cancer.” In talking about her own fight with the disease, Shoretz explains the changes she’s experienced since receiving treatment for a second breast cancer diagnosis. “The immediacy of it is more obvious now, with this diagnosis, than it was in the first,” she said. “Now that I can experience our program as a patient, Sharsheret, the chain, has really come full circle.” 2010-08-03T06:58:42+00:00