Bar/Bat Mitzvah and Weddings

Posted on December 1, 2012 by rabbiadar
Chuppah - Just Married: Sharon Papo & Amber Weiss

Chuppah (Photo credit: Marc Love)

Yes, I know that the syllabus said “Jewish Funerals and Mourning” for this past Wednesday night, and I’m still not sure why I prepared the wrong lesson plan.  I apologize for the confusion; we went ahead with the plan for Bnei Mitzvah and Jewish Weddings, and will do Funerals next week.

Key facts about Bnei Mitzvah:

– It’s Bar Mitzvah for boys, and Bat Mitzvah for girls.  Bnei Mitzvah is the plural.

– If a person is Jewish and 13 or older, they are bar or bat mitzvah.  It has to do with age, not with a ceremony or a party. A Jew who is bar mitzvah (of age) can serve as a witness in a rabbinical court, can witness documents, and can be called to the Torah for an aliyah (Torah blessing.)

– However, the celebration of bar or bat mitzvah has become an important lifecycle event for Jewish families.

Key facts about Jewish Weddings:

– Two parts: Kiddushin and Nissuin (click on Jewish Wedding Vocabulary to get the class handout that explains the details.)

– The Ketubah is the Wedding Contract.

– The Chuppah is a wedding canopy, symbol of the new household that begins with the wedding.

– A get is a Jewish divorce document, given by the husband to the wife.

See you next week for our next-to-last class, Jewish funerals and mourning!

– Rabbi Adar

Related articles

Filed under: Uncategorized | Tagged: , , , , , , | Leave a Comment »

5th Friday invitation

Posted on November 22, 2012 by rabbiadar

Just a Reminder:  I’m attending Temple Sinai’s “Fifth Friday” program this coming Friday night.  It’s a short service followed by dinner.  For more information, here is the info from the Temple bulletin:

5th Fridays: Services + Dinner in One!

Friday, November 30 

Come to our first 5th Friday early service + dinner.
Nosh at 6:00pm, Shabbat Services from 6:30-7:30, followed by no-host Mediterranean dinner to be catered by Bacheesos.  RSVPs and purchase of dinner are required ($15 per adult or $7.50 per child under 12) .  Sign up at http://ts5friday.eventbrite.com/

If expense is an issue for you, please just drop me a line (you have my email address) and let me know. I’ll make arrangements and no one but you and I will know about them.

I hope to see several of you at dinner and services!

– Rabbi Adar

Filed under: Uncategorized | Leave a Comment »

5th Friday at Temple Sinai – Join us!

Posted on November 15, 2012 by rabbiadar
Shabbat Triptych [125/366]

Shabbat Triptych [125/366] (Photo credit: timsackton)

I would like to invite each of you to attend a Friday night service and Shabbat dinner at Temple Sinai in Oakland, 2808 Summit Street, on November 30.   Linda and I are attending, and if enough people from the class are interested, I will reserve a table for us at dinner. (If only a few are able to attend, you’re still welcome to sit with us!)
Services will be held from 6pm-7pm, followed by a no-host Mediterranean catered dinner.  The dinner takes place in Stern Hall at Temple Sinai.
RSVP/pre-purchase of dinner is required so they can have adequate food.
It’s $15 plus a $1.80 fee.  Sign up at this eventbrite website:  http://ts5friday.eventbrite.com  If the cost of a ticket is not within your budget, please contact me (Rabbi Adar) directly and we will find a way to make it happen. The same goes for transportation – if you need help getting there, we’ll find a way. Obviously, in both cases, the more notice the better, so please check your calendar and contact me soon.
The deadline for buying your ticket to dinner is November 28th.
– Rabbi Adar

Filed under: Uncategorized | Tagged: , | Leave a Comment »

How to Chanukah, and other Holidays

Posted on November 14, 2012 by rabbiadar
US Navy 071208-N-0455L-003 Machinist's Mate 3r...

US Navy 071208-N-0455L-003 Machinist’s Mate 3rd Class Jesse Kopelman and Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Harry S. Truman (CVN 75), Commanding Officer, Capt. Herman Shelanski sings during a Chanukah celebration (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

There are three cycles to the Jewish Year:

– The Fall Cycle, which has to do with Creation and Judgment, with cosmic questions like “Where are we going?” and “Is that where we want to go?” (High Holy Days, Sukkot)

– The Spring Cycle, which asks the question, “Who are We?” — I think of that as the Mythic Question, because it goes to identity. (Passover, Shavuot)

and finally –

– The National Cycle, which has to do with events in historical time, things that happened on dates we can point to.

Chanukah – the holiday when we remember how our ancestors struggled with questions of assimilation, and ultimately chose to rededicate themselves to Judaism, just as they rededicated the Temple after it had been used for Greek sacrifices.

Tu B’Shevat – the “New Year of the Trees” which began as an accounting device for counting the tithe for the Temple, but which became a festival of our relationship with the Land of Israel and with the Earth itself.

Yom HaShoah – Holocaust Remembrance Day – which comes right after Passover and the anniversary of the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising, to help us remember that Jews DID fight back against the Nazis.

Yom HaAtzmaut – Israeli Independence Day – Almost two millenia after the fall of Jerusalem and the end of Jewish self-rule in the Land of Israel, a new Jewish State declared its independence.

Tisha B’Av – 9th of Av – the summertime remembrance of the destruction of the 1st temple in 586 BCE, the 2nd Temple in 70 CE, and the terrible Expulsion of the Jews from Spain.

Class handouts:  HowToNC <– How To Light Chanukah Candles

and The National Cycle <– summary of things to know about these holidays

Related articles

Filed under: Uncategorized | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , | Leave a Comment »

Posted on November 11, 2012 by rabbiadar
Traditional arrangement of symbolic foods on a...

Passover Seder Plate (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

This past Wednesday we talked about the Spring Holidays: Purim, Passover, Shavuot.  I promised you some resources on them – here they are:

Cleaning for Passover

Seven Ways to be a Great Passover Seder Guest

Making Your First Passover Seder a Success

Why Count the Omer?

What’s on the Seder Plate, and Why?

Passover & Shavuot Book List:  PassShavBooks

Next week we’ll look at the “National Cycle” – see you then!

– Rabbi Adar

Related articles

Filed under: Uncategorized | Tagged: , , , , , | Leave a Comment »

Yes! We are having class this week!

Posted on October 30, 2012 by rabbiadar
Do They Know It's Hallowe'en?

Do They Know It’s Hallowe’en? (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

If you are wondering – yes, we are meeting on Halloween.  If you want to talk about why, that’s one reason to have class.

Another reason we’re having class is that we’re scheduled to begin our trip through the calendar:  we’re going to talk about the High Holy Day cycle, the Fall holiday cycle. If you went to High Holiday services and had questions afterwards, this is your chance.

I’ll be at Congregation Beth El, in my usual costume (the silly hat.)  I look forward to learning with you!

l’shalom

Rabbi Adar

Filed under: Uncategorized | Leave a Comment »

Hello! and Welcome!

Posted on October 17, 2012 by rabbiadar
English: Shabbat Candles Deutsch: Schabbatkerzen

English: Shabbat Candles Deutsch: Schabbatkerzen (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

What a great group! I love it when classes have a nice variety of folks in them, and this class is a lovely mix.  It is further enriched by the fact that not only do we have a lot of diversity in the class, we also have things in common.

Tonight was “getting to know you” night – we went around the class with introductions and we looked over the syllabus. Then in the last few minutes, I talked just a tiny bit about Shabbat. We’ll visit the subject again, don’t worry — but for now, just reflect on the fact that Shabbat is a day to BE, not to DO or MAKE.  What small shifts might we make towards Shabbat? What might make Friday evening to Saturday sundown a bit different?

I also distributed the handout “A Simple Shabbat.” It has the directions for Shabbat dinner, with the traditional blessings, in their shortest, simplest form. If you would like another copy, you can click on the “Class Handouts” tab above, and download it.  All I ask is that you not distribute it to others without my name.   In the same place, you can get another copy of the Tzedakah Box assignment.

You can access the class Syllabus by clicking on the Syllabus tab above.

If by chance you wanted to be at the class, but had to miss, fear not! Come next week. You can register on the Lehrhaus Judaica website, and then show up.  After the second week, it’s a bit trickier to join the class – you may want to wait for the January entry point.

It was a pleasure to meet you, and I look forward to learning with you over the coming term!

l’shalom,

Rabbi Adar

Filed under: Uncategorized | Leave a Comment »

« Previous Page — Next Page »
Follow

Get every new post delivered to your Inbox.

Join 1,490 other followers