Tweet #Torah to the Top!

Posted on April 28, 2011 by rabbisteinman

My friend and colleague Rabbi Mark Hurvitz writes the following about how YOU can help tweet Torah to the top:

how to tweet #torah to the top

The “day” of June 7, 2011 is “erev” Erev Shavuot. I suggest that we prepare as many 133 character Torah lessons as we can to “release” on that day. If you have been sharing #Torah Tweets through the year… Torah does not go bad or stale. You should feel free to “recycle” those thoughts.

I plan to begin tweeting at sundown Jerusalem time 7:42 PM on the 6th, which corresponds to June 6, 2011 at 12:42 PM. with some “announcement” tweets, as in: “This is what we are doing, please join us.”

I think this is a great way to encourage awareness of Torah. I’m sure we each have many simple “Torah thoughts” that can be expressed in 133 characters. (Don’t forget to leave room for the final space and #Torah, that’s 7 more characters.) If you think that 133 characters is not enough for a profound thought from Torah, consider that this is only 102 characters (also from “Hillel the Tweeter”):

If I am not for myself, who will be for me. if I am for myself alone, what am I. And if not now, when?

I’m sure that some of us still have  Joseph L. Baron’s “A Treasury of Jewish Quotations” which can serve as a little goldmine of tweetable thoughts.

I suggest we each prepare a number of “tweets” in advance. Set up a text file and then simply copy, and paste them into our preferred Twitter tool about once or so an hour (depending on your “capabilities” (schedule, etc.)). For those who use Twitter with your congregations, your congregants, too, can join in… either with their own thoughts, or questions about #Torah, or re-tweeting yours. Let’s get everyone involved in thinking Torah as a lead-in to Shavuot.

If you expect to be busy on June 7, you can use any of a variety of free tools that have been developed that enable you to prepare your tweets in advance:

You can learn about more, similar, tools here (they may, or may not, still be functioning).

If you are active on any listservs you think might be interested in participating, please spread the word.

Read more: http://www.davka.org/#ixzz1KgTeght2

I hope to see you at Sinai!

Posted in holidays, technology, Torah | Leave a comment

Finding meaning

Posted on April 27, 2011 by rabbisteinman

On Sunday night I lit the festival candles for the last day of Passover. It was also the first time that I lit a yartzeit candle for my mom. Or in my mom’s memory. Whatever. When I lit the candle and stood there and said the blessing for the festival candles I have to say I felt nothing. My first thought was, “well what’s the point of this?”

Festival candles, yartzeit candle and a weird reflection on the counter

It reminded me of the end of shiva. As the resident Judaism expert I told MY DAD and THE DIVA that we should take a walk to mark the conclusion of shiva. None of us really felt like doing it, but I played the “I want you to do it” card. (NB: we  had a previous agreement that we would try to do everything that we could to bring comfort to all of us and that meant going along with some things for one of us).

It was raining, which was apropos of our general mood. We put on shoes and each had ridiculously large golf umbrellas (why did MY DAD have any golf umbrellas? He doesn’t golf?). We went out the garage door and started down the driveway. MY DAD closed the garage door. As he would say, “you can never be too careful.”

When we reached the bottom of the driveway I said, “It is traditional to go to the left.” I was kidding. We went to the left anyway. We walked around the cul-de-sac. Headed back up the driveway and went into the front door.

I can’t speak for MY DAD or THE DIVA but I found this ritual empty. I was just as sad, numb, angry, confused, tired, and drained as I was when we left the house. Lighting the yartzeit candle felt very similar.

I will continue to light the candles on the days Yizkor is recited. Maybe next time will be different?

Posted in family, holidays | 1 Comment

Blog makeover

Posted on April 26, 2011 by rabbisteinman

Or is it a makeunder? As you can see I have changed my blog around a bit. What do you think? (Do you think it needs more color? I’m serious about the feedback).

Posted in technology | 2 Comments

We need to accept each other

Posted on April 26, 2011 by rabbisteinman

This article appeared in the Canadian Jewish News last week (I couldn’t find an online version)

Posted in Politics, Temple Sinai | Leave a comment

Happy Passover!

Posted on April 18, 2011 by rabbisteinman

May we all know liberation from the narrowness, the oppression and enslavement in our lives and in our world. This year we are slaves, next year may we be free. Happy Passover to you and yours.

Posted in family, holidays, Peace | 1 Comment

Today I will use a fountain pen

Posted on April 14, 2011 by rabbisteinman

And I did! And I did yesterday, too. I am lucky to have two fountain pens. One is from a dear friend that came as part a fancy desk set. The other is a Levenger (not that this means anything to me) and was a gift from a congregant who was disappointed that when I became Bat Mitzvah, no one bought one for me.

Let it be known that I am left-handed. When I was a student this meant that any pen with ink that didn’t dry quickly was a pretty bad idea. I already had that embarrassing smear of pencil and pen on the left side of my hand from wrist to tip of the pinkie. Now I do much more of my writing in electronic form so the opportunity to hold a pen is something truly unique. Do you remember the last time you got a hand written note in the mail?

I just learned while writing this post that it is very easy to clean a fountain pen and immediately had to stop the twelve other things I was doing in order to change from the blue ink to a lovely olive-green in the fancier Levenger pen. Already I can tell that people will find the color of the ink a little different when I sign letters and I will definitely be using this pen a lot more.

However, does anyone know anything more about changing the nibs of a fountain pen? This information seems much more difficult to find. I have no interest in becoming a collector of fountain pens. I just think it is fun that I have the option to use them! (And no I wouldn’t use it for signing documents like ketubot or marriage licenses because I don’t know enough about the ink and whether or not it is archival and will last for a long time. Also, remember what I wrote above about smudges?)

If you have some knowledge about fountain pens and care to enlighten me as to how to change nibs, etc., please be in touch.

Write on.

Posted in memories, technology | 1 Comment

The shopping list

Posted on April 12, 2011 by rabbisteinman

The shopping list

I started doing my shopping for Passover.

Matzah, butter, eggs.

And the new addition I never wanted, at least not yet,

the yahertzeit candle.

To ignite on the eve of the 7th day

so that I can recite the Yizkor prayers to remember you

as if I could forget.

Posted in holidays, memories | 6 Comments

What are you reading?

Posted on April 11, 2011 by rabbisteinman

I’ve added something new to the blog! I know. It is so exciting. I’m taking some inspiration from my friend @imabima and keeping a list of the books I’ve read. If you look at the top of the blog in addition to the ‘about’ and ‘disclaimer’ you will now also find a list of books. I love to talk about books so if you see something and want to know my thoughts you know where to find me.

I am always looking for recommendations for things to read.

Posted in Uncategorized | 6 Comments

Addendum to ‘I want to go to this Seder!’

Posted on April 7, 2011 by rabbisteinman

On Tuesday, I posted this about the Sipping Seder. Just for the record, the creators of this seder are aware that not all of the cocktails they have created are kosher for Passover. Here is a link to some of their suggestions to alter the drinks slightly.

 

What are you going to be drinking at your seder?

Posted in holidays | 1 Comment

More seder thoughts

Posted on April 6, 2011 by rabbisteinman

I wrote this d’var Torah for the board meeting last night. (Unfortunately, I didn’t attend because I have a bad cold). Maybe it will be helpful for your seder?

—–

Two weeks from tonight, God willing, we will be gathered around tables in order to retell the story of the Exodus from Egypt. We will say, “הא לחמא עניה די אבלו אבהתנה בארעא דמצרים,” “This is the bread of affliction that our ancestors ate in the land of Egypt.” We hold up the matzoh at this point though we are still many page turns away from eating it.

Something about this idea has always troubled me. Sure, matzoh is the bread of the poor, it is quick and inexpensive to make. However, isn’t it also the bread of freedom? It says in Exodus, “they [the Israelites] baked unleavened cakes of the dough that they had taken out of Egypt, for it was not leavened, since they had been driven out of Egypt and could not delay; nor had they prepared any provisions for themselves.”1 Why is it that the rabbis who constructed the liturgy of our seder meal call matzoh the poor person’s bread and not the bread of freedom?

Rabbi Yitz Greenberg suggests that the rabbis start the Maggid, the telling, section of the haggadah this way precisely because it is the ultimate equalizer.2 Perhaps the rabbis of old were concerned that we would forget the beginning of the story and focus only on the positive outcome–we end up free people. Another possibility is that the rabbis want each of us to be prepared to challenge the status quo like our ancestors who fled Egypt. Therefore we all sit with this hard, plain matzoh before us, the same bread of oppression our ancestors ate.When we taste that matzoh we are simultaneously taken back in time and transported to the table with the empty plates belonging to the oppressed worker, the slave laborer, of one of the 963 million people around the world who cannot exit the cycle of hunger.3

We will say again at the end of this paragraph, “השתא עבדי לשנה הבאה בני חורין, now we are slaves, next year may we all be free.” May we each come to know the end of oppression even as we work towards this end for all people.

כן יהי רצון

1. Ex. 12:39.

2. http://utzedek.org/files/hcasep.pdf

3. http://ajws.org/what_we_do/education/publications/holiday_resources/passover_seder_reading_2009.pdf

 

Posted in food, holidays, Torah, tzedek, Uncategorized | Leave a comment