by BZ · Monday, January 15th, 2007
(Crossposted to Mah Rabu)
Hi from the Catskills (or should I say, the Catskill)!
On Shabbat afternoon I was on a panel on “The Role of Halakhah in Reform Judaism”, moderated by Rabbi Leon Morris of the Skirball Center for Adult Jewish Learning. The other panelists were Rabbi Joan Glazer Farber of the Union for Reform Judaism, and Rabbi Mark Sameth of Pleasantville Community Synagogue. (So yes, I was the token non-rabbi on the panel.)
By request, here is some of the discussion from the panel as best I can recall. I’m mostly just going to post what I said (because I’m not worried about misrepresenting myself, but might misrepresent others), but if other panelists or attendees want to post their recollections, please do so in the comments.
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by shamirpower · Monday, January 15th, 2007
Editor’s Note: The following is a guest post from my Canadian buddy Feygele. Please forgive his Canadian-ness, including spelling and pronunciation of the word “sorry.”
Prior to registering for this year’s Limmud NY, I hadn’t realised that there was a town of Catskill, NY - I always thought of the Catskills as a region only. But, lo!, I drove the four hours through the mountains to arrive at the Friar Tuck. I assumed it would be a similar venue to last year’s Kusher’s, full of kitsch and a bygone era of Jewish families vacationing for the summer. Instead, my first sight was that of a brick building with a castle-esque motif. It didn’t stop there though, as I wandered the maze-like hallways, I found the interior design to be eclectic and eccentric. And the rooms! With names like “Buckingham Palace,” “Camelot,” “Scarlet,” and “Sherwood,” I felt like their ought to be men in tights (but probably not as Mel Brooks envisioned) strumming lutes and prancing about. It seemed only fitting that those of you who were unable to join us in the learning, laughter, conversations, and great food, not only read about those aspects of LimmudNY but the setting as well. And so, for the second year in a row, we present the photos of Limmud - not of the people, but of the facility itself.
by shamirpower · Monday, January 15th, 2007
ALG blogs some reflections on LimmudNY.org, as well as a reflection on a discussion of pluralism:
At LimmudNY, I heard Rabbi Yitz Greenberg (who, incidentally, is surprisingly hilarious) speak about people being created in the image of God, what that means, and what that means for human sexuality and Jewish sexual ethics. What I got out of it is not directly about sexual ethics, but rather a more simple message that should be obvious, and might be obvious to others, but was just on the brink of obviousness to me. This pushed the nascent, recently-developed thought over the edge into unalterable reality.
It says in the Mishna in Tractate Sanhedrin 4:5:
ìäâéã âãåìúå ùì îìê îìëé äîìëéÃ, ä÷ãåù áøåê äåà , ùà ãà èåáò îà ä îèáòåú áçåúà à çã, åëåìï ãåîéï æä ìæä, îìê îìëé äîìëéà ä÷ãåù áøåê äåà èåáò à ú ëì äà ãà áçåúîå ùì à ãà äøà ùåï, åà éï à çã îäà ãåîä ìçáøå
“…to proclaim the greatness of the Holy One, blessed be He, for when a human being strikes many coins from one mould, they all resemble one another, but the supreme King of kings, the Holy One, blessed be He, fashioned every man in the stamp of the first man, and yet not one of them resembles his fellow.”
Adam and Eve were created in the image of God and we were all created from Adam and Eve. Yet, miraculously, we are all different from each other. No two people are alike. Our uniqueness and our Godliness are one and the same, since they come from the same place.
What of this uniqueness? Who cares?
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by LastTrumpet · Saturday, January 13th, 2007
Just came from the pisk, psalm & poem open mic, hosted by Jewschool’s own Shamirpower, featuring performances by the amazing Chana Rothman (a brand new song debut!) and Yoshie Fruchter. Up next… a Y-Love concert! I bet you wish you were here.
Shabbos was amazing - no surprises there. 6 davvenen options erev, and 7 more in the morning, plus sessions up the wazoo - Kabbalah Kirtan with Yofiyah, a hip hop tisch with Y-love & Yuri Lane, Niggun-fest with yours truly, three different sessions on different Chassidic master (Sefat Emet, Piaseczner & Kedushat Levi), meditation, yoga, a panel featuring BZ on the role of halacha in Reform Judaism… I could go on, but I’m missing the concert. Check back for more later.
by LastTrumpet · Friday, January 12th, 2007
The Jewschool crew (BZ, Shamir & I) just attended a session with David Solomon, known for his “In One Hour” talks. This particular talk was titled How to Convert the Pope: Successful and Failed Attempts to Bring the Messiah. Both fascinating, and challenging, on a number of levels.
We looked at three figures, Abraham Abulafia (whose take on Kabbalah ultimately inspired the book and subsequent film Bee Season), Solomon Molcho and the Ramchal (R’ Moshe Chaim Luzatto), all of whom at one point or another decided to attempt conversion of the Pope. Needless to say, none of them succeeded, but their little-known stories are certainly food for thought.
During the question and answer period, one of the attendees inquired as to whether or not the presenter thought that Jews should be out actively seeking converts (a question the Reform movement is currently wrestling with, given Rabbi Eric Yoffie’s comments at last year’s Biennial). The response came as a no, but with a special exception for the Pope. Apparently, the first step in such a conversion, according to Mr. Solomon, would be a presentation of “Jewish History in One Hour.” I’d sure love to be a fly on that wall.
Solomon also explained that he views Islam as over-transcendant (represented by the upward pointing triangle), and Christianity as over-immanent (the downward), and only when the two are reunified with their origin (picture a Magen David) will there be Moshiach.
Up next for me (after Lunch) - Unified Denominational Theory - Ken Wilber via David Ingber. Should be fascinating. G!d willing, I’ll find time to post again before Shabbos, but if not, Shabbat shalom to you all, and we wish you were here.
by LastTrumpet · Thursday, January 11th, 2007
LastTrumpet here, blogging from the lobby of the Friar Tuck Convention Center in Catskill, NY. LimmudNY is just about to get under way. Everything has been pushed back an hour - something with the bus.
Folks are arriving, checking in, grabbing the bagged dinner (mmm, tuna) heading to their rooms (if they can find them), and maariv is in half an hour. Not all of the 800 folks will be here tonight, but the ones who decided to come early have some exciting options this evening: mystical peacemaking, live acoustic music, yiddish radio, Rabbis & sex - just a taste of what’s to come.
If I can keep my eyes open after the session, I’ll give a holla.
If you’re not here, and there’s anything on the schedule you’d particularly like covered, hit me up in the comments and I’ll see what I can do. Oh, and I just saw BZ taking pictures of the carpet.
by LastTrumpet · Wednesday, January 10th, 2007
Tomorrow afternoon, G!d willing, I’ll be making my way to the Friar Tuck Convention Center in Catskill, NY for the sold-out LimmudNY conference (my second). The schedule is jam-packed with goodness, (see previous posts for details), but I’d imagine there’ll be a few moments for some live blogging. Check back over the weekend.
If you’re coming, leave us a comment, and let us know what you’re the most excited about. If you’d like to guest post from the conference, come find me (tall-ish, big beard, gray kippah with green stripe).
This year’s conference is taking place at the Robin Hood-themed Friar Tuck Convention Center. It was pointed out to me today that the Limmud conference in England takes place in Nottingham. Coincidence? Divine providence?   There’s a dvar in there about the little guy revitalizing Judaism, wrestling away the joy from the big institutions and redistributing it to the yidden, but I don’t have time to write it.
See you there!
by LastTrumpet · Friday, December 15th, 2006
Ladies and gentlemen, the LimmudNY Program (albeit a tentative one) is up! Go and look at it. It’s totally amazing, I kid you not. Movies, music, davvening, social justice, mysticism, arts & crafts… I could go on. (plus, you can put it on your iPod)
There are 50 spots left, and the prices go up on Sunday!
Register Now.
Previous posts: Music@LimmudNY, Toirah@LimmudNY, Encounter Point, JewFusion? (start here if you’re new)
by LastTrumpet · Tuesday, December 5th, 2006
Because why else come?
Register here
Irving (Yitz) Greenberg - a seminal thinker in confronting the Holocaust as an historical transforming event and Israel as the Jewish assumption of power and the beginning of a third era in Jewish history. Has published numerous articles on Jewish thought and religion, and has written extensively on the theory and practice of pluralism and on the theology of Jewish-Christian relations. Click here for mp3 of “Between Pluralism and Factionalism: Can the Unity of the Jewish People Be Restored?”
Art Green - Rector of Hebrew College Rabbinical School. One of the world’s preeminent authorities on Jewish thought and spirituality. A prolific author, his most recent books include Ehyeh: A Kabbalah for Tomorrow and A Guide to the Zohar.
Blu Greenberg - Founding president of the Jewish Orthodox Feminist Alliance (JOFA). Helped found One Voice: Jewish Women for Israel, a national coalition of Jewish women’s organizations. Co-founder of The Dialogue Group (Jewish and Palestinian women), a member of the Jewish Women’s Dialogue and co-chair of the Global Peace Initiative of Women.
Mimi Feigelson - Female Orthodox Rabbi. Mashpi’ah Ruchanit and Lecturer of Rabbinic Literature @ U.J. Rabbinic School. Her teaching weaves elements of mind and heart through rigorous text analysis, music and contemplation.
Nathaniel Helfgot - chair of the Bible and Jewish Thought departments, instructor of Jewish thought and talmud at Yeshivat Chovevei Torah
Joel Grishaver - Jewish writer, teacher, cartoonist, and storyteller. Started Torah Aura Productions with two friends. Founding board member of CAJE, a consultant to the Whizin Institute, the author of more then 80 books, and a winner of the Covenant Award.
Miriam Berkowitz - writer, scholar in Boca Raton. Published in Women’s Torah Commentary, Jewish Lights Spirituality Handbook, Journal of Pastoral Care, Mount Sinai Journal of Medicine, Jerusalem Report. Author of Spiritual and Practical Guide to Mikveh.
Judy Klitsner - senior faculty member @ Pardes
Kevin Hale - Sofer stam (torah scribe)
LimmudNY is happening in the Catskills over MLK weekend.
by LastTrumpet · Thursday, November 30th, 2006
Check out some of the amazing musicians who will be at LimmudNY in January! Click the links for music samples, vidoes, and more general goodness.
DJ Handler’s music defies stereotypes. He frequently includes collaborations with non-electronic musicians, creating textural fusions of live and recorded sound. He references Ashkenazic cantorial music, traditional Yemenite melodies and hip hop. dj handler is a multi cultural maestro that spins a mix of Baile Funk and Afro Beat blended with 80’s free style and hip hop, which gets the most famous US clubs to resemble the craziest festivals abroad. Plus, he runs Modular Moods - the home of Jewschool’s own Y-Love!
Chana Rothman’s music blends Israeli sensibility with freestyle and rhythm acoustic guitar. Insights from living in the mountains, growing up outside the mainstream, and songleading with lively kids from Kathmandu to the Lower East Side inevitably find their way into her music and interaction with the audience. The message is unity through music, breaking down walls between audience and performer, and just being yourself.
Yuri Lane: Human Beatbox - Currently Yuri tours “From Tel Aviv to Ramallah,” a hip-hop play that tackles the Israeli-Palestinian conflict while emphasizing the humanity, suffering and joy of both Israelis and Palestinians.
Shira Kline - “She touches people deeply as she creates services which inspire both personal reflection and communal bonding. Her musicianship and voice flow with grace across the spectrum of Jewish music.” -Mark X. Jacobs, past Executive Director, COEJL
Yofiyah - the founder of Hebrew or Kabbalistic Kirtan, an ecstatic kabbalistic practice based on the chanting of sacred Hebrew texts and names of G!d.
Henry “Hank” Sapoznik is an award-winning author, record and radio producer and performer of traditional Yiddish and American music. With MacArthur Fellow David Isay, he produced the critically-acclaimed 10-week series the “Yiddish Radio Project” on the history of Jewish broadcasting for NPR in the spring of 2002. In 1985 Sapoznik started “KlezKamp: The Yiddish Folk Arts Program” the world’s most important training venue for practitioners of this nearly lost art and, in 1994, co-founded Living Traditions to administer it.
It’s not too late to register! You don’t want to miss all of this great music.
by LastTrumpet · Thursday, October 19th, 2006
Tuesday, October 24
6:30-9:00pm
DOROT, 171 W. 85th Street (at Amsterdam Ave.)
Take the 1 to 86th and Broadway or the B/C to 86th and CPW
Jewfusion n. a fusing or melting together of all things Jewish
Limmud NY n. Jews of diverse backgrounds and all ages who have chosen to come together to celebrate Jewfusion
Taste Too n. another opportunity to become part of the Limmud NY community through food, reflection, text . . . and more
Limmud NY: Can you Taste it?
Join us for a small sampling of Limmud NY. Space is limited and on a first-come first-serve basis; RSVP to info {at} limmudny(.)org.
$5.00 suggested donation
Tasty Presenters & their Sessions
Efi Chalamish is currently a PhD candidate in International Law at University of Michigan and practices international business law with Latham & Watkins, LLP. Efi is also the International Association of Jewish Lawyers’ representative to the United Nations in New York and the Co-Chair of AJC ACCESS. He worked as a legal fellow at Human Rights Watch, North Africa and Middle East Division, during 2003, following his graduation of Masters in Law from University of Michigan.
- Efi will lead a discussion on Israel after the war: the new rules
Judith Helfand is a Peabody award winning filmmaker, activist, and educator. She is currently a professor in New York University’s undergraduate film and television department and at work on a new “toxic comedy” about global warming. She speaks widely with her films, which are known for inspiring unlikely community and institutional partnerships and unique interdisciplinary opportunities. Judith is on Limmud NY’s Programming Team, helping to create a film track at this year’s conference.
- Judith will share clips from her films relating to environmental issues and how the Jewish community can respond
Linda Lantos is a NY based chef/educator who is passionate about cooking & teaching others how to prepare health-supportive meals that enliven the senses, nourish the body, & are kind to the planet. Linda teaches at a number of venues throughout the city and provides private classes, catering, cooking parties and demonstrations. Linda is co-leader of this year’s Limmud NY Catering Team. Linda is also appearing at the Zeek’s fall launch party!
- Linda will lead a cooking lesson, creating a fusion of Jewish foods
Elie Kaunfer is a 5th-year rabbinical student at the Jewish Theological Seminary, where he recently completed an MA in liturgy. A Wexner Graduate Fellow, Elie is a co-founder of Kehilat Hadar. Elie has taught for the Wexner Heritage Foundation, the Dorot Foundation and Lishmah. He is a a founding board member of Limmud NY, and is a member of Synagogue 3000’s working group on emergent sacred communities. He is a former corporate fraud investigator and analyst at Morgan Stanley. The Forward Newspaper recently named him one of 50 Top Jewish Leaders.
- Elie will lead a text study entitled Confrontation and Compassion: Rabbi Eliezer’s Flirtation with Christianity
This year’s conference will be January 11-15, 2007 in the Catskills. Registration is now open. There is a $50 discount available to the first 100 participants who have never been to Limmud NY before, and scholarships are available for all participants from the New York area so register today!
by LastTrumpet · Friday, October 13th, 2006
In the introductory post on LimmudNY, I explained that we’d be highlighting the work of some of the excellent presenters at this year’s conference. This is the first.
Ronit Avni is the Founder and Director of Just Vision, a non-profit that widens the influence of Palestinian and Israeli grassroots peace builders. In addition, Ronit is the director/producer of Encounter Point, a documentary about Israelis and Palestinians pushing past their own personal losses to move their communities toward peace. Encounter Point received the 2006 San Francisco International Film Festival Audience Award and was an official selection at the Tribeca Film Festival, Hot Docs, Atlanta, and Jerusalem International Film Festival. Here’s the trailer for the film:
From JTA:
“Encounter Point†was shot in Israel and the Palestinian territories over a 16-month period. It follows eight narratives, including the story of Robi Damelin, an Israeli woman whose soldier son was killed by a Palestinian sniper; Tzvika Shahak, who lost his 15-year-old daughter in a Tel Aviv suicide bombing; and Ali Abu Awaad, who served time in an Israeli jail and whose brother was killed by Israeli soldiers.
All are active in the Bereaved Families Forum, a group that fosters dialogue among Israelis and Palestinians who have lost family members. Others in the film are involved with similar peace-building initiatives.
These people disagree politically, though they all come together on one point: If they don’t talk to each other, the cycle of violence will continue. (full story)
Register for LimmudNY
by LastTrumpet · Tuesday, October 3rd, 2006
In Fight Club, Tyler Durden (Brad Pitt) holds a gun to a shop-owener’s head, and makes the man promise to pursue his dreams. The shop-owner tastes death, and is given no choice but to emerge a deeply changed and newly invigorated man. Yesterday, we were reminded of death. As soon as we emerge, we begin to prepare our booths, serving (at least) two purposes - a reminder of the impermanence of stuff and a time when it becomes our sacred obligation to be joyful. In a sense, it really is a Jew recharger (and I’m way in favor of, say, a solar-powered space heater).
We’ve emerged, and it’s time to make our dreams come true. Now, I’m going to make the assumption that you’re dreaming about four (or five) days of creative, wonderful, alive Judaism tucked away in the Borscht Belt.
You’re dreaming of LimmudNY. No way.
I had the good fortune of attending last year’s LimmudNY (at the recommendation of the Jewschool crew), and got my first real taste of Judaism for, by and of the people.
LimmudNY brings Jews of all ages and diverse backgrounds together for a weekend of celebration and learning. It is a dynamic, creative, and interactive environment, run almost exclusively by volunteers, which fosters personal growth and Jewish education. LimmudNY brings together Jews from all walks of life, backgrounds, lifestyles and ages.
The conference offers hundreds of diverse, innovative programs celebrating Jewfusion. They range from interactive lectures, concerts by renowned musical artists, and activities for children and families, to film screenings, opportunities for artistic creation, text study, and panel discussions around the social issues that shape the daily lives of New York area Jews (or Jews from anywhere).
This year, LimmudNY will take place over MLK Weekend - January 11-15, 2007 at the Friar Tuck Convention Center in Catskill, NY.
This year’s conference features a plethora of amazing presenters, and over the coming weeks and months, Jewschool will be highlighting the work of a few of these amazing folk. Plus, it’s a great opportunity to meet some of the Jewschool gang. (actually, to begin - check out this story about Yuri Lane and the Hip Hop Sulha in USA Today).
LimmudNY is also one of the most affordable experiences of its kind. There are fellowships for high school, undergrad, and graduate students to attend for only $150! If you haven’t been in past years, there are 74 first-timer $50 discounts still available.
LimmudNY has sold out every year, so register early!
For a better idea of what LimmudNY looks like, check out last year’s program and photos.
Register Now: Go to www.limmudny.org. Scholarships are available. For more information, contact info -at- limmudny -dot- org.
Jewschool is proud to be a media sponsor of LimmudNY. We’ll be posting right up through the conference. Check back for updates.
by Ruby K · Thursday, January 19th, 2006
Miss LimmudNY? Looking for someplace where you can bang on the table while singing zmirot? Are you wondering just how in the hell you’re gonna go a year without being at Kutshers? Well, have I got the cure for you, kids…
Kol Zimrah is meeting for a rockin, rawcous way to greet the Shabbas Queen. This Friday, 6:30pm at the SAJ (15 W 86th St), come join in the singing, praying, and merriment! And if you’re wondering about shabbas dinner plans, just bring something to share and join us for the tasty potluck afterwards. I promise I’ll be providing something delicious. And afterwards, more singing! more banging on tables, until we get kicked out and possibly choose another place to sing some more!
This is great, you’re thinking, but I was looking for something, well, longer. Kabbalat Shabbat is awesome, but I need a several day fix? What can I do, Ruby?
I’m glad you asked. The National Havurah Committee’s Summer Institute is seven months away, but I promise you, once you get hold of the course listing, you’ll want to register yesterday. It’s a week long program complete with multiple day classes, workshops galore on numerous topics, creative sessions, jams, learning, a talent show, multiple prayer options, and if you’re lucky, you’ll get to swim in the lake or ride in a golf cart. It’s on a beautiful college campus near the mountains in New Hampshire. Plus, if you’ve never been before, you might be able to get a 90 % fellowship with the Everett Fellows program. An awesome week with great programming, food and lodging paid for for around 100 bucks. Some people I know (well, me) have called it “one of the best week of their life.”
BZ tells me you’ll be able to register online soon. So keep an eye out, I know that several of the bloggers on here will be keeping you up to date as the institute rolls closer.
by Ruby K · Tuesday, January 17th, 2006
As Sashinka noted, she, along with Shamirpower, BZ and myself, were trapped in a snowbound Borschtbelt paradise without inter-net all of Sunday, and of course today was the, ahem, Exodus from Middletown back to wherever you came from (quite possibly the UWS or London).
The conference was (over?)loaded with great courses and activities, so a few brief highlights from the last 48 hours of the conference.
My favorite Sunday session was, without question, Labor of Love: An introspective musical journey through our liturgy with Danny Maseng. Now, still being somewhat new to all this, I cheerfully admit I actually had not heard of Danny before the conference. With a mother who teaches Sunday school to second graders, it’s pretty hard to miss the greatness of Debbie Friedman, but I was told he’s wonderful, don’t worry, Ruby, you’ll love him. Went to Shabbas morning musical services, and not only did he bring wonderful music to the morning, every now and then he’d say something really short and insightful. Wanted to do his Sunday session, but that was before staying up till 3 something jamming with BZ, Avi Fox-Rosen (who also had a cool workshop on singing), Bara Sapir (who sang over the rainbow like she wrote it), and a few of our friends who gave us the gift of Limmud from across the pond. I got up for an am session, and I was tired. I decided I would stop by, and then split a little bit into it, to say hi to Knucklehead or catch a nap. Once he started, I couldn’t leave. He gave us a great look into his inner musical workings, as well as some incredible nuggets of knowledge about Lecha Dodi, the passage between Adonai Elohaychem Emes and Mi Chamocha, and the prayer immediately following the Borechu, noting that the passage from Isaiah it was adapted from called G-d the creator of both Good and Evil, and rhuminated on why the Rabbis wouldn’t want that talked about in the prayer. Really thought provoking stuff. Thanks, Danny.
Also had a great time listening to Basya Schechter as part of the closing program. Homegirl’s got some serious music in her, in case you weren’t sure.
So, Knucklehead and I were up until 4, along with BZ and a few other new friends, jamming the night away. Except we were also leading a Martin Luther King service with NF at 8am. I don’t know how we got up, but we made it and it was a lot of fun. Unfortuntely, the net being down made my drosh a lot shorter, as I wanted to actually quote Dr. King’s statement of “one has a moral responsibility to disobey unjust laws” in “Letter from a Birmingham Jail” and compare it to Shifra and Puah’s act of civil disobedience. We picked out some great tunes, some of which I think Shamirpower recorded.
All in all, a great time. Props to the staff and board of Limmud NY who made it all happen. One thing Knucklehead pointed out to me, and I can definitely see her point, is that 75 minutes just scratches the surface of these serious topics. Maybe, for next year, there could be a few courses that are multiple days? Also, while I love the Five Boroughs, i was reminded of the line from Rounders, “You know, if we wanted to take each other’s rolls, we could have just stayed home.” How can we spread word to other communities out there to make this even better next year?
Yasher Koach to all who made it happen this weekend. Now, sleeping in a smaller bed, but with heat on in the room.
by sashinka · Monday, January 16th, 2006
So I’ve just got back from LimmudNY - wifi was down for a day, so you’ll have to wait for reviews/thoughts on some of the sessions. But let’s just say that Kutsher’s is kitsch nirvana: the faded grandeur of this mother-hen of the old Catskills resorts has an old-school feel that’s part Jewish renaissance interior decor, and part whatever was on sale when they recarpeted that particular room. I’m not saying that I didn’t have a weekend replete with intellectual debate, a more-carbs diet, and a range of session presenters from textual to hipster (and I don’t mean that in a bad way).
It’s just that I couldn’t get over the carpets. There are patterns that are Cheadle (pink, green, flowered), lurid (bright green and red), mismatched (there’s a couple of images of great carpet joinage), all coupled with faux Louis XV wallpaper. And the names: the Stardust Room (we saw Debbie Friedman and Basya Shechter, although not together, but for pesach you get Dudu Fisher), the Deep End (great, er, bar) and the Launch Pad.
So, preserved for posterity: a time will come when Kutscher’s either redecorate, or the whole thing fades into oblivion.
I give you: The Kutschers Online Carpet Museum. You read it here first.
As they say in NY - enjoy.
by sashinka · Sunday, January 15th, 2006
Friday lunchtime, I was at the Can “Jewish Culture” Sustain the Jewish People? Is “Hip” Enough? panel. Panelists Robbie Gringras, Leon Morris and Jennifer Traig, ably moderated by Gary Rosenblatt, chewed the fat.
Leon had some incisive thinking: that the “hip” fringe/disempowered expressions of Jewish identity has an adolescent edge to it tinged with a degree of self loathing - I’m still thinking about that. Robbie played devil’s advocate (”we are a people divided by a common religion”, “I don’t think all this Jewish learning is the answer”), and Jennifer really got it: she talked about doing the hip stuff with an ironic detachment - although Robbie countered with critical attachment.
Interesting - unanswered - question from the floor about whether the cannibalisation of African American culture, and the thousands of MCs of eastern european descent had an inherent racism to it.
Seems to me that the whole debate missed the debate about bothness/duality - it’s not an either/or, you can be a sabbath-observant Heeb reader, and religious/spiritual identity and cultural secular identity can play off and inform each other.
Jewschool may or may not have an MP3 eventually posted, so you can hear the whole thing verbatim.
