Kids

Girls Write Now: Show a little love, eh?According to the National Association of Secondary School Principals (NASSP), low literacy ability leads to low grades and low achievement levels—which can and usually does then ultimately lead to a high drop-out rate. In the same report, it is noted that of high school seniors, way less than half read at a level required to comprehend a school textbook. The focus of curriculum being on standard testing in the US at the moment allows students little time to explore artistic and literary pursuits, and so writing programs are just not available to students. In a 2000 SCANS Report, research showed students with access to music, theater and creative writing all performed better than students without.

So, recently, when I learned about a truly wonderful organization that is doing some really incredible work in this area, I knew I'd found an organization I wanted to support. Meet Girls Write Now, an organization that "provides a safe and supportive environment where girls can expand their natural writing talents, develop independent creative voices, and build confidence in making healthy choices in school, career and life." Sounds great, right? Wait, wait, it gets even better!

Girls Write Now "provides at-risk New York City high school girls with emerging writing talent an opportunity to be custom-matched with a professional woman writer who serves as her personal mentor and writing coach, meeting with her weekly for the duration of an entire school year, and for up to four years. GWN also enrolls each student in a vibrant writing community — all mentees and mentors gather monthly for genre-based group writing workshops conducted at our offices within Teachers & Writers Collaborative in midtown Manhattan. The year is punctuated by three annual readings, college and career prep seminars, field trips to cultural events, and endless opportunities for scholarships and publication. The magic of the program is reflected in a solid nine-year track record, a 75-percent member retention rate, a 100-percent college acceptance rate, an annual anthology of original writing, and the seven-genre portfolios each student emerges equipped with each season. Founded in 1998, GWN was the first organization to ever present this combination of powerful services, and it continues to be the only program of its kind in the eastern United States."

Helping Others: To Do Their Best Girls Write Now has, in addition to mentoring sessions, writing workshops, a reading series, a Life Adventure series of writing and performance workshops, support for students parsing through the rigors of college admissions, events and activities, and scholarships and contests, but they created Girls Write Forever, a program that helps give supporters so many options to ensure the good work of Girls Write Now can continue into the future. (Now, if I can just figure out where they sell those great t-shirts!)

To support this organization with a donation or an in-kind donation please click here. To volunteer, here, and for litty girls in New York City, click here. And, if you find yourself in New York on January 18th, and you do roll on Shabbes, by all means, get yourself to the Winter Pair Reading and see your ten bucks doing a lot of good.

Wicked stylish: But, unfortunately, not terribly fire-resistant, I'm afraid.A friend of mine has the Crate & Barrel chanukiah that, while terribly chic, was unfortunately recalled a few years ago after a few of them burst into flames. Oops. She's "tinkered" with it, she insists, so it won't ignite when the candles burn out. I didn't push beyond that.

Anyway, if you missed the recall info, Crate & Barrel made a chanukiah in 2003 that had an acrylic base and later issued a statement saying "The acrylic base of the Hanukkah menorah can ignite if the candles are allowed to burn completely." Which, you know, we're supposed to do. So, there's that.

Crate & Barrel isn't the only one making spontaneously combusting chanukiot, either. If any of your little darlings have the M&M's chanukiot, bad news there, too. It's plastic, too, and equally, you know, eager to catch on fire. Ditto these cats and dogs-themed chanukiot, too. Sigh.

Lastly, I can't say I actually know anyone with this rig, exactly, but in the event any of you have this chanukiot manufactured by Aviv Judaica that involves something called "Chanukah Oil Candles With Jelled Extra Virgin Olive Oil" (Bleck!), do avoid a huge fire-y mess and get your return underway. Or think of something really outrageous to do to repurpose your gelatinous olive oil...? Whatevs.

Chag Sameach and a safe, recall-free holiday to all. Oy.

Earlier this month, I wrote about Jewish Living magazine, and I was really iffy about it. I was questioning the stated target market of the magazine, among other things. Bon Appetite, Goumet and the like are cooking and food magazines, yet they aren't marketed to women exclusively or even as a majority as far as I'm aware. And, with the magazine's comment about Jewish Living being for those of us in our 30s and 40s who have (supposedly) matured beyond Heeb magazine (Heeb, which is marketed to both men and women, snark, snark)... I was very skeptical of the rag, I'll admit.

Jewish Living: Maybe overlooking potential readers, but a good read, if you ask me.So, as promised, I read it. Cover to cover. Ads for upscale modern furniture. A section called Kvell that includes the kvell profile, the kvell of the book, kvell sound check, a national calendar of events, eco-friendly Chanukah gift-guide, cooking that included various ethnic/regional variations on a basic ingredient, Modern Practices-- a section addressing our traditions with a modern take, a huge styley/upscale Chanukah section, a nice article about that dear A.J. Jacobs, stuff about kids, an decently in-depth article about giving in various ways, Two Jews/Three Opinions, a quick list of notable organizations, a piece about Chinese Jews... I have to admit I really like this magazine.

I still think there's nothing inherently female about the magazine, and maybe an opportunity for a male readership is being glossed over in marketing efforts. Family sure, but female? Nuh-uh. Also, even mentioning Heeb and Jewish Living in the same breath is a stretch, as the irreverent brand of humor in Heeb is not found in Jewish Living. Granted, the proof will be in subsequent issues. That will do more in defining the magazine for what it is, so I might be speaking prematurely. But, on its own, I'm reporting back as I said I would, and I do like it. It covers come good basics-- food, home comfort, celebrations, thoughtful gifts, family, and thoughtful discussion of modern Jewish life. All things I enjoy in a magazine. 

Spertus: Brand-spankin'-new facility for a really great organization.Here in Chicago, the community is rather chatty about the new Spertus Institute of Jewish Studies opening a new $55M facility on Michigan Avenue. This building is, I have to admit, really quite stunning and Friday, it opens to the public, finally. For those of you not familiar with Spertus, allow me to introduce you. It started in 1924 as Chicago's College of Jewish Studies and currently boasts a 15,000-piece collection of Jewish art and artifacts, a library and graduate school. The new ten-floor building adds a Wolfgang Puck kosher cafe (as you know already because you read it over on Jewcy's Pickled blog), areas to rent for events (someone please hold a simcha there and invite me, please, please, please), a 400-seat theater, a really fantastic Judaica gift shop, and a children's center is set of open in a few months. It's a lot. And, it's really great. It's not a terrible idea, either, to get yourself on the mailing list of events, as I can personally attest to how wonderful their lectures and other public events are.

And, if you happen to be in Chicago with kids on Christmas Day, when everything is closed but movie theaters and Chinese restaurants, Spertus can save the day with family events all day long featuring the music of Rav Shmuel, a chess tournament, and all sorts of crafts and activities. No need for reservations and it's totally free (thought they encourage you to bring a few nonperishables for their EZRA food drive). Not too shabby.

So, if you are here in Chicago, or plan to be sometime soon, hit the website, plan your visit, and, maybe just maybe, I'll see you there.

 

 

 

 

            As a Jewish environmental educator, I get to experiment with many different practices that are foreign to mainstream suburban Judaism.  During Sukkot we had a Simchat Beit Hashove’ah ceremony, which is a crazy Jewish rain dance with fire juggling, music and flaming old underwear.  In services, we regularly get kids to do physical stretching with their morning blessings in accordance with the Talmudic guidelines for waking up.  My favorite practice out of all we do is hitbodedut, the chassidic practice of going out into the woods and being alone with G!d. 

            Every week during an hour and a half of electives, I lead a group of eleven year olds off into the woods to practice hitbodedut.   We hike quickly up the mountain until we are out of sight of anything manmade. Then we scream.  We scream until there is no air left in our lungs.  This isn’t explicitly part of the practice, but its fun, congeals us as a group and helps to get people’s airways open and ready to talk to G!d.

            At this point, I teach the instructions for hitbodedut as they were first described by Rebbe Nachman, a chassidic Rebbe from the eighteenth century.  He writes that everyone should,

make a habit of praying to God from the depths of your heart. Use whatever language you know best. Ask God to make you worthy of truly serving Him. This is the essence of prayer. 

Rabbi Nachman's Wisdom #229

            I tell them that they will have half an hour to go off into the woods and speak to G!d out loud and without pausing.   I tell them that they can say whatever they want, as long as it is honest, and directed to G!d.  They can bless. They can thank. They can ask for things.  They can even talk with G!d about their atheism or how they feel self conscious standing out in the middle of the woods talking to themselves.  It doesn’t matter as long as they speak from their heart.  Whatever comes up and is addressed to G!d is perfectly kosher.  The final instruction I give them before sending them off is to repeat the mantra “rebono shel olam,” or “master of the world” if they cannot figure out what to say at any point. 

            After a half an hour or personal time with G!d, I call people back with a shofar and so we can share briefly about our experience.  Every time I have ever debriefed a session of hitbodedut, I am always amazed that each person has had a profound experience.  They all leave with insights into life, G!d or nature. Personally, doing hitbodedut every week for the past few months has been deepened my own connection with G!d and given me insight into what comes next for me in life. 

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This week on FaithHacker we're excited to welcome guest blogger Getzel Davis.  Getzel is, among other things, an environmental rock star, a former ADAMAH fellow, and pretty much the nicest guy I know.  To start things off I sent him some tough questions, and to no one's surprised, he totally rocked them. -TF

 

 

What kind of work are you doing now, and how does it fit into your spiritual journey?

I work for the Teva Learning Center as a Jewish environmental educator. Every week I get a new batch of 6^th grade day school students to try to inspire. We go off into the woods every day and practice feeling radical amazement in nature. After a week of group bonding and ecology lessons, I get to sit down with each child and school to help them brainstorm ways to make the world a healthier and happier place.

What's your favorite spiritual practice? Why?

My favorite spiritual practice at the moment is mikvah. It sounds a hokey, but time I get out of a mikvah, I physically feel spiritually cleansed (even if I am covered in muck from the lake). This year, to prepare for Yom Kippur, I dunked forty-nine times for the forty nine levels of spiritual impurity that people of capable of. When I got out, it felt like I was already at Neilah, the last service of Yom Kippur, when we are finally forgiven of our sins. I went through all the motions of Yom Kippur already knowing that I had been forgiven. It was incredibly powerful.

What's a Jewish ritual that really doesn't speak to you? Why?

Stoning gay people. I can’t imagine a compassionate G!d really wanted us to stone two consenting adults who love each other.

What's your favorite Jewish text to study and why?

My favorite text is the Mei Hashiloach by the Izbitzer Rebbe. Despite the fact that the Izbitzer was a leader of a chassidic ultra-orthodox Jews, half of his discourses are about the flawed nature of Jewish law. His radical theology allows for certain people at certain times to do perform acts contrary to normative Jewish law. This book is a great tool for anyone struggling personally with questions of halachic obligation.

What's a social justice issue that's really important to you and why?

I believe that the greatest issue facing humanity is global warming. Rising oceans and desertification of the land scare the shit of me. The solutions are not going to be easy things like recycling or buying hybrid cars (although both are great). The only way humanity will be able to avoid an incredibly ominous future is by radically changing how we consume things. We need to start holding producers responsible not only for the safety of a product while we own it, but also the impacts of its creation what happens to it after it has been thrown “away.”

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Halloweeneleh: Whether you do it or not, maybe there's a nice little message in the way it gets done anymore. Or maybe just some horribly misguided costumes.There's a lot of talk about whether or not we, as Jews, should be celebrating Halloween. There's the we-shouldn't-celebrate-nonJewish-holidays camp and the it-has-Christian-and/or-Pagan-roots camp and the who-cares-it's-fun-it's-not-hurting-anything-to-dress-up camp. I can understand these different schools of thought, and maybe a few sub-headings within each, and I can understand the impetus behind each.

But, whatever you do or do not do for Halloween, this article makes a nice point about making the focus of the holiday, whether you celebrate it or not, on giving. Though it could be a hard sell, children could learn about the joy of sharing and giving by handing out candy at home, and if you do not observe Halloween, maybe passing out candy to trick or treaters puts a welcome mat out for inter-community interaction. Could be.

Uh, but whatever your take on Halloween might be, Does anyone else think this is more than a little bit fucked up? This? What about this? Or these? Does that last group even make sense?

I stumbled across a beautiful Shabbes quilt not long ago, and when I inquired about it, I was pointed towards various resources online for Jewcy-crafty types. I had no idea! Anyway, sewing and general Martha Stewarting (I know, I know, I want to resent her, too, but sister makes some great stuff) is sort of a secret pleasure of mine, so here's what I know:

For some inspiration, try my two faves: hit the campy and wonderful Judaikitsch: Tchotchkes, Schmattes & Nosherei by Jennifer Traig for projects like the Neil Tzedekah Box and a beaded matzah purse. With a description of "what would happen if Martha Stewart was abducted by a tribe of trailer park rabbis"--- it's obviously useful and hilarious. Then check out Jewish Holiday Style by Rita "Jewish Martha Stewart" Milos Brownstein. A few other good reads you might find some inspiration in: Jewish Holiday Crafts for Little Hands by Ruth Esrig Brinn, and Jewish Holiday Treats: Recipes and Crafts for the Whole Family by Joan Zoloth & Lisa Hubbard.

The Pomegranate Guild members are reviving Jewish traditions and stories through their work with textiles, here we read about Marci Greenberg’s “Knitting by Torah” project, and here is a great article about Knitzvah, Skitch & Kvetch (modified from the popular Stitch and Bitch) and Not Your Bubbie’s Yarn. (And check out this alef-bet chart.)

Quilted Quickest Sewer Upper: Who wants to sew this for me? Kidding! Sort of.

The fabulous Dreidel Crafts offers Jewcy-themed buttons, a nice selection of rubber stamps, several clasps and charms, appliqués, quilt supplies, fabric, candy molds, and on and on. Such great stuff. So fun. And they even offer gorgeous quilting patterns, like this Torah Quilt and tons of other Jewcy quilt designs. Here Elizabeth Rosenberg sells patterns for her stunning quilts, (Oh, speaking of Jewish quilting, read this interesting piece about Jewish and Palestinian quilters coming together for a peace quilt.) Fancy Delancy by the way, specializes in hard-to-find Jewcy fabrics.

Blackwork Archives has these beautiful pomegranate needlepoint patterns (Rosh HaShanah napkins next year anyone?) while Crafty Needle has several patterns for tallis bags and needlepoint. And, will you get a load of these DIY wedding resources? This from Do-It-Yourself Weddings and this from Martheleh Stewart. Rumor has it, The Artful Bride by April Paffrath and Laura McFadden is a really great DIY wedding book, but, uh, yeah, I'm no authority on weddings, yo.

Chadis Crafts offers all sorts of tribey bead projects like adorable “beadie” dreidles that would surely be a hit with kids. A DIY seder plate would be a cute project, too. For more fun resources for kids’ projects, Making Friends has a jewish crafts section, (I say “kids’ projects” but, hello?, I’d totally make the Magen David napkin rings.) and this dreidel would be a cute projects for a bit older kids. Then again, a friend of mine decoupaged beautiful dreidels a year or two ago, so maybe we can have just as much fun as the wee ones on the dreidel craft department. I mean, even Martheleh gets into dreidels. Oh, and see her other Chanukah craft ideas here. Oh, oh, and her matzo cover here. Uh, and of course she makes candles for Chanukah.

Handmade candles: Oy, Martheleh, oh, Martheleh, what can't you do?

Of course, if you’re not so keen to make things yourself, you can always hit a design-your-own site or commission a tallis to be woven for you, or look through hundreds of sites for Jewish artisans (like here and here) and still reap the benefits of having beautifully handmade Judaica.

What about you folks out there in Jewcylvania? Any craftiness you want to share?

(My mother, by the way, is going to plotz over this post. She's so crafty. Must be where I get it from.)

 

In honor of the great lefty Sandy Koufax and of great righty Hank Greenberg, I thought it would be fun today to give some shoutouts to some other Jewish athletes kicking it Greenberg-Koufax style, and a few other happenings in the world of J-sports.

 

Shawn Green considers the way to do the High Holidays his way in this weirdly worded headline, but discussion-worthy article, and here we see a Q&A with BoSox first-baseman Kevin Youkilis about the decision he and outfielder Gabe Kapler made last year to go ahead and play on Yom Kippur. Jonah Keri's piece earlier this month in Salon.com highlights (or, chai-lights? Ba-dum-ching!) eighteen standout Jewish baseball players. Andre Tippet talks about conversion and football here (ha/oy, we see that word "ambassador" again), and Paul Lukas gave us this "kosher look" at Judaism in baseball back in April, giving mention to Mike "SuperJew" Epstein's glove-art.

"SuperJew" Epstein: Taking breaking-in a glove to a new level.

Also, a few of you might remember Jewish Journal's piece last spring about Pesach V. NCAA. Another sports discussion-worthy tidbit lives right here, in the adventures of a Canadian Orthodox hockey player. Also let's revisit the story of karate champion, Sara Rivka Ernstoff, who refused the US's World Karate Championship trials twenty-five years ago.

 

In NY, Cablevision is adding a Jewish On-Demand channel which "will contain a mix of films, documentaries, talk shows, comedy, political commentary shows, cooking programs, sports, children's programs, and holiday specials all with a Jewish theme or connection" and the JNF of Greater NY issues a "My Bad!" after having to rescind a Playboy Mansion trip prize, auctioned off at a sports trivia night in Manhattan. Heading west to Ohio, the Shaw JCC in Akron is pretty excited to be hosting Maccabi Games in 2008 and heading way far away, the JTA reports a tiny bit about the Jewish sports festival held earlier this month in Moldova.

 

Israeli tennis duo Andy Ram and Jonathan Erlich have started a Jewish Sports Foundation to "encourage young American athletes, will also aim to combat negative stereotypes about Jews’ athletic prowess." (Read the Jewish Chronicle piece here.) Speaking of negativity, remember last winter when Bahrain gave the boot to Mushir Salem Jawher for running the Tiberias marathon. Lastly, speaking of the marathon, registration for the Jerusalem half-marathon will open soonish for the March 2008 race.

 

The other day I read this post over at Visualize Possibilities called Congratulations! It’s A God! about how believing in God can be like giving birth. It sounds kinds of silly, and the post is somewhat irreverent and cute, but definitely worth a read. And I’ve been thinking a lot about giving birth and having babies because I know a lot of people who’ve recently become parents for the first time.
Kids in Shul: adorable or unbearable?
People always talk about how amazing and miraculous it is to have a baby, and how shocking it is to realize how much you can love someone you’ve never met before. I buy that, but I wonder how the ill effects of child-rearing can influence one’s connection to God and the Jewish community. It’s not something I’ve ever heard anyone talk about in a serious way. In fact, the only source I’ve ever seen on this concept comes from a particular rabbi’s ruling that says the primary caregiver for young children isn’t obligated to pray because he or she could be rightfully too distracted by his or her obligations to give the appropriate intentions to prayer (send me a message if you’d like the source).

But what about when the kids have grown up considerably, and are still a major distraction for a parents who wants to daven? Sitting in shul the other day I noticed that the children present were getting pretty rowdy, screaming and giggling and generally behaving like kids, while the adults in their midst pretty much tried to ignore them. It occurs to me that this is the norm in many shuls, and that ignoring kids in shul doesn’t really leave them with the idea that they’re valuable members of the community. On the other hand, finding a space with a room for children isn’t east, and then occupying the kids for a few hours while their parents daven without the aid of television, arts and crafts or musical instruments can certainly be a challenge, too—especially when most of the adults really want to be in services davening. So what’s a responsible and serious synagogue to do? I poked around online and found a few responses.

Not surprisingly, the CRC has a particularly offensive take on children in the synagogue, basically holding that they should be left at home until they’re older and can be quiet. Then it goes into a kind of weird thing about not kissing anyone at shul so God knows you like God best.

I wasn’t able to find much more about the behavior of young children, but there are a bunch of articles from Jewish newspapers about teaching kids to act appropriately at bar and bat mitzvahs. Some shuls require the family of the bar or bat mitzvah to provide chaperons who will sit with the rowdy preteens and shush them. The Jewish Journal reports on rabbis asking kids to stop text messaging during davening, and on inappropriate dress for synagogue. And j. is especially harsh on preteens:

These days, with my son on the b’nai mitzvah circuit, I’ve been privy to many horrific tales of disrespectful and out-of-control behavior at these meaningful celebrations. While some of the more extreme stories may be suburban legend, there’s no doubt that disorderly conduct is a recurring problem. And these troubled waters run deeper than the offending parties could ever imagine; the potential ripples far surpass that puddle surrounding the ice sculpture of the bat mitzvah girl doing a pirouette.

This unruly behavior is hurtful, if not heartbreaking, to the families who have invested many months — not to mention lots of money — anticipating and preparing for this all-important day.

These deeds negatively impact the synagogue’s visitors and regular congregants, as well as rabbis forced to add policing to their list of Shabbat morning duties.

I’ve been to some pretty raucous bar mitzvahs, and to some incredibly gurgly Shabbat mornings, and it’s true that they’re distracting and not conducive to an incredibly close relationship with God or prayer, but I’m not sure that throwing the kids out or telling them to sit down, shut up and cover up is really the best response.

How is it that none of these resources say anything along the lines of, “Kids should bring quiet books and toys—like puzzles—to occupy themselves during services. Older kids should be encouraged to bring Harry Potter, or some other reading material"? I know that my plan won’t work for every kids at every point, but it seems like those are the most obvious suggestions. Am I missing something?

Laurel and Lewis: Huzzah!I just wanted to let everyone know that former Hacker of the Faith and blogger extraordinaire Laurel Snyder gave birth to a healthy baby boy last Thursday. Lewis Abraham Snyder Poma, 7 lbs, 7 oz. 20.5 inches long. He was two weeks early, but Laurel and Lewis and the whole family are doing great.

He is incredibly cute. And he can probably already write sonnets and play guitar.
Welcome to the world, Lewis! Come on out and play! And a huge mazel tov to Laurel, Chris and Mose. Yay!

The Legacy Project is an organization devoted to creating bonds between the generations. They have educational hands-on programming for everyone from seven-year-old Mickey to eighty-seven-year-old Max. This year they sponsored a contest called the Listen to a Life Essay Contest, where students ages 8-18 interviewed a grandparent or “grandfriend” 50 years or older about their life experiences and then submitted a 300-word essay.

Eleanor Cawthon, 13, was the national Grand Prize winner, and she got a Lenovo ThinkCentre computer and a $500 Books Are Fun gift certificate. Cawthon is a grade 8 student at Rowland Hall-St. Mark's Middle School in Salt Lake City, Utah. She interviewed Reed Hart, 69, who's part of the Tenth East Senior Center. Hart shared his experiences in the Navy serving in Korea. "When I asked Mr. Hart what he would like to leave the world's young people, he said a recording of the interview. My essay is his wish fulfilled," says Cawthon.

Twenty runners-up also got $200 Books Are Fun gift certificates. You can read all of their essays and see pictures at the winners page of the website. And you can start gearing your kids up for this coming year’s competition, which starts on Grandparents’ Day, September 9th.

Also available on the Legacy website, some amazing gift ideas for graduates.