Rabbi Eleanor Steinman

This week’s Torah portion is, in part, about taking out the trash.  Granted, it isn’t just any trash, it is the ashes that remain on the altar after a day’s worth of burnt offerings.  The priest responsible for taking out the trash was dressed in their regular holy garments to be worn only when working in the confines of the sacrificial cult.  Their garments included: breeches, tunic, sash and headdress.  Lest we think that these were not floor length garments, this week’s portion assures us that the tunic is to cover the feet.  Imagine the ashy mess!

And I haven’t even gotten to the complicated part yet.  Every morning a priest had to remove the ash from the altar.  This was usually done in some pile on the side.  However, every once in a while this pile got too big and the priest had to take it outside of the camp.  No big deal you think?  Wrong!  This involves a complete costume change.  The priestly outfit is only for the confines of the Temple and not for ordinary activities like rubbish removal  Imagine if we had to change our clothes every time we took out the garbage or walked down the hall to the garbage shoot?

Now you might be thinking, why do I care about any of this?  Well my friend, the answer is, because it is what we do all the time.  We are constantly transitioning between the sacred and mundane whether or not we realize it.  As a rabbi, I like to think that I am a little bit more clued into this happening and can help others do the same.  Take, for example, this blog.  Do you realize that by surfing the net or facebook or linking through the tweet that I posted something new you in fact performed a mitzvah?  That’s right, studying Torah is a mitzvah and you might have learned something new.  We moved from the mundane to the sacred.  (And if you changed your clothes please don’t tell me).

See, maybe there is a point to that mindless web searching!

Though I didn’t fill out any brackets or place any bets on the outcome of the NCAA basketball tournament, I am a fan.  I like college ball sometimes even better than the NBA because the game isn’t about a team’s superstars.  It is more about fundamentals and well executed team play.  That, however, is not the subject of this post.

I do not watch very much TV and what I do watch is usually pre-recorded on my PV-R (or as they say in the country to the south, DV-R).  The result of this is that I don’t watch many commercials.  This is a benefit to my life, in general.  I don’t care about beer commercials, I don’t care about the latest invention at the local fast food place, and I don’t generally need to know what toys I am not going to buy for my friends’ small children.

Today though, I am sitting on the couch happily taking part in the March Madness and all I want is to see the same commercials as the people watching in the USA.  I don’t entirely understand the reasoning, I just know that in Canada the advertisers don’t pay for the air time in the same way so the commercials here are completely repetitive.  I have been a couch potato for most of the day and I have seen the same commercials probably in every 3 commercial breaks.

Does anyone else find this annoying?  Is it just me?

Oh and because I need to prove I have been reading other things all day, this is a great op-ed.

I am very excited to announce to the blogosphere that Temple Sinai will be starting its own CSA, Pri Adamah.  This initiative of the social action committee at temple is going to meet a number of goals of the committee and also of the synagogue and most importantly, it is providing the entire community an opportunity to think about the question, are we what we eat?

So you probably have some questions.  Let me try to answer them.

First, what is a CSA?

CSA is a system in which individuals or families choose to buy organic produce from a local farm for a whole growing season. Produce is delivered once a week to the pick-up location, where the members are able to choose their produce while connecting with the farmer and members of their community.

A CSA is an effective way to confront the global challenges of pollution, land degradation, and poor nutrition. In addition to the global benefits of participating in a CSA, you and your family will benefit greatly in the realms of quality, cost, community, and education. In terms of quality, your weekly produce is always fresh (often harvested the morning you receive it), and because it is grown organically, it is of the highest nutritional value. Cost wise, the price of CSA membership is competitive with organic prices at local grocery stores and farmers markets. In addition, our CSA drop-off site has proven to be a social gathering place — a place where members get to know each other while they share ideas and stories about food, family, and life. As for the educational benefits, through newsletters, farm visits, workshops, and special events, members are exposed to the various issues that affect agriculture in your community.

Why is this Jewish?

Why is joining a CSA a “Jewish” thing to do? When God finished creating the world, God placed Adam in the Garden of Eden and commanded Adam, “l’ovdah u’l’shomra,” to serve and protect Creation. When we purchase local organic produce, we are choosing to support a food system that cares for our natural world, our health, and our community – we are honouring our role as stewards of God’s creation! As well, participating in a CSA that values social, environmental, personal and economic health as “the bottom line,” enables us to actively participate in the process of Tikkun Olam, repairing the world.

Join the 30+ other Jewish communities across North America that have already committed to putting Jewish purchasing power behind our local farmers! Become a part of the new Jewish food movement today!

What about Tzedakah?

An important part of the PRI ADAMAH CSA is the Tzedakah component. Each week, The Cutting Veg will donate some leftover produce to Eva’s Place. Eva’s Place provides support to homeless youth through emergency and transitional housing, harm reduction services to address drug and alcohol use, counseling, employment and training programs, housing support and services to reconnect youth with their families (www.evasinitiatives.com). Each week, through the PRI ADAMAH CSA, produce will be given to Eva’s Place staff, who will work with the youth to produce nutritious meals, while teaching invaluable cooking skills. Thus, your participation in the PRI ADAMAH CSA directly supports folks in our community who are most in need of highly nutritious food. In addition, all unclaimed produce is donated each week,and you will be given the opportunity to donate shares during your vacation weeks.

What if I want to be more involved?  Are there more opportunities?

Yes. Beyond providing the freshest, localest, organicest produce around, the PRI ADAMAH CSA offers the opportunity to get educated and get involved.    Throughout the summer, The Cutting Veg Organic Farm offers weekly volunteer work-bees — an opportunity for people to get involved in the growing process, and connect with nature, members of their community, and themselves. Also, you will have the choice to sign up to help out at the depot site, as there is nothing more Jewish than providing food for others. None of these opportunities are mandatory, but all of them will help you to feel more connected to where your food comes from.

For even more information, please go here.  Don’t hesitate to ask any questions and I will do my best to answer them.

It has been a whirlwind of a few days.  The CCAR conference in San Francisco was fantastic.  I saw classmates who are now colleagues, people from the Brickner Seminar, people who inspired me to be a rabbi, and so much more.  I also saw LBN and had a fantastic lunch at a Mexican restaurant.  From the convention I spent a day in San Francisco doing tourist things (how had I never been to Ghiradelli before?) and went to Denver to spend quality time with a friend from university.  I don’t exactly remember what I was doing these past few days, thank you Abigail and Sarah (said friend’s twins).  All I can say looking back it was a great vacation.  I’m looking for a slow re-entry back into life at temple.  Oh and cleaning for Pesach.  Oy, cleaning for Pesach!

This week I will be attending the CCAR convention in San Francisco.  I will be blogging there and cross posting what I write here.

This was today’s post.

In a few hours I will be traveling to San Francisco for the CCAR convention.  I needed to be in Toronto at Temple Sinai to teach a family education class this morning, and will arrive in San Francisco after the opening banquet, unfortunately.  Because this is my first convention, I am looking forward to the opportunities for learning about a myriad of topics, connecting with friends and making some new ones.

I look forward to the blogs that I will be able to share, as well as those of my colleagues as we go through the convention.

See you in SF!

It has been a doozy (doosie?) of a week. I am so grateful that Shabbat is almost here.  I will have a little time to relax, rejuvenate, and let go, precisely what I need.  It’s not just what I need though.  It is what the Jewish people need.  Every week. No exceptions.  This week I am grateful for Shabbat.  That it exists.  That I’m blessed to be able to observe it in community.  What are you grateful for?

Shabbat Shalom!

Last week I posted this.  While I wholeheartedly agree that there is a need for talented, qualified Jewish educators in lots of venues throughout the world.  It seems to me that the ordination of women as rabbis solely to serve as instructors in Jewish high schools throughout North America is still limiting the potential for women to serve the Jewish community.  I also think it can become uncontrollable.  Once a woman has this masters degree and smicha, what is to stop her from going to North America and starting her own congregation? The Hartman Institute is a reputable institution in the Jewish world and I would not question those with ordination from them.  There are too many others running around claiming the title, ‘rabbi’ who have no qualifications and it seems this type of program is creating a slippery slope.

I am proud to be a woman rabbi and to be an ordainee of the Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion and I am proud of my colleagues and would welcome the modern orthodox establishment of women as Torah scholars and bearers of the title of rabbi without restriction on the type of service that they might perform.

The Brickner Seminar convened by the Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism and CLAL reminded me why I became a rabbi.  It has taken me several days to process all that I learned and I am still deep in that work and hope that it never ends quite honestly. 

Sometimes when people ask, “Ellie, why did you become a rabbi?” I answer in this way.

“One of the benefits of being a rabbi is that after five years of study I really earned a title that enables me to do lots of different kinds of work.  I’m not a specialist, I’m a generalist in making Judaism relevant.”  Social justice is a big part of my being and thereby naturally is a huge part of my rabbinate, too.  The Brickner seminar in a way brought me back to me.

I spent four days with other rabbis.  Some I knew, some I didn’t.  I was reminded of the profound camaraderie that exists naturally amongst rabbis.  It is something very special.  It is like I spent five days with people who already speak the same language that I do.  This isn’t to say that people I encounter everyday don’t speak the same language as I do, rather it is that the process of becoming a rabbi truly inculcates a language, an experience.  It’s like walking into a room and already being part of the gang.

Throughout the week we studied with Rabbis Tsvi Blanchard, Irwin Kula, David Saperstein, Lynne Landsberg, and Michael Namath.  Additionally presentations were made by Marc Pelavin, Sean Thibault, and Jonathan Lange.  I learned a new method of unpacking rabbinic texts that enables a student to make a seamless transition to modern texts such as bills and position papers.  We studied in chevruta (pairs), as a large group, and I am still assimilating this methodology into my own learning, and I hope in time, teaching.  I heard presentations about community organizing under the auspices of the Just Congregations initiative with the URJ using a model from the IAF, strategies for working with the media and advocacy on city, state and national levels were elucidated.

In the end, all of these are strategies for making change.  Change in an authentic way.  One that will be lasting, rooted in Jewish tradition, and bring meaning to the lives of those involved in each step of the process.

One powerful lesson of which I was reminded last week was the power of the pulpit.  As a rabbi, I am lucky that sometimes people actually listen to what I say.  It is imperative that I advocate for that meaningful change I described in the above paragraph because I can speak from Jewish tradition, that rich well that serves as an unending source of inspiration, questions, and suggestions for ways to live a life of meaning. I also need to be authentic and live the change that I want to see in the world.  As a human being this is what I hope to do everyday, as a rabbi this is what I need to lead my community in doing, too.

Rabbi Tarfon said, “the day is short, the work is heavy, the workers lazy, the wages high, the master of the house, insistent.  He would also say, “It’s not your job to finish the work, but you’re not free to walk away from it,” (Mishnah Avot 2:15-16).

I love my job.  What are we going to do today?

There most certainly won and I have to admit it was quite exciting.  I was privileged to watch the game with genuine Canadians and they were quite excited.  I learned of a Canadian custom.  After a big win (apparently these are quite rare) cars go up and down Yonge Street honking horns, waving flags, and causing a lot of traffic.  It was pretty exciting to see and be a part of.  I’m glad that the Canadians had a successful Olympics and I’m looking forward to getting back to regularly scheduled programming.

I just saw this article on my google reader and I have to confess I’m not convinced this is an entirely positive thing.  I promise to think about this more and post again about it.  For now, what are your initial thoughts?