~Heartfelt Judaism~

Old Interviews With Leonard Nimoy About Judaism

jrosemary@gmail.com (J. Rosemary Moss) — Sun, 12 Oct 2008 00:16:00 +0000

Trek Clippings has a wealth of old articles about Star Trek--if you're a fan, you'll want to read them all! But these two gems about Nimoy and his relationship with Judaism caught my eye:

In 1967's Banned in Boston Nimoy talks about the prejudices he faced growing up as one of the few Jewish kids in his Boston neighborhood.

And in another article from 1967, Nimoy talks about his Orthodox parents, plus his own thoughts about observance, prayer and raising kids in Judaism. I especially liked the way Nimoy described his mom's relationship with God--she would even ask God to make sure her kids remembered to brush their teeth!

My Mom's like that: she calls for divine aid in any and all situations. And she's a nice Catholic girl, not a Jew, so apparently this trait crosses religious boundaries. She passed that trait onto me, for which I'm grateful. It allows me to bitch, moan and plead with God about everything...

Enjoy the articles!

It's Candlelighting Already?

jrosemary@gmail.com (J. Rosemary Moss) — Fri, 10 Oct 2008 21:18:00 +0000

It's time to light the candles? But I'm still worn out from Yom Kippur. Heck, I think even God's still worn out from Yom Kippur. All those prayers--over and over again. (Why say something once when you can say it twenty times?)

Don't mistake me; Yom Kippur was powerful. Sort of the way a punch in the gut is powerful...it can shock you out of your own skin and force you to open up your eyes. It really is worthwhile to be in shul the whole day. Still, by the time we reached that last silent Amidah I was done. I just closed my eyes and said, "HaShem, you know the words..."

And now we're back to Shabbat...so there are even more prayers to come!

Of course, it'll be a partially observant Shabbat for me, as usual. I'll light the candles and have a Shabbat dinner and make it to shul tomorrow--but I doubt I'll lay off the computer or the phone tonight. But right now I'm ok with that. Sometimes observance is a matter of baby steps.

Shabbat Shalom!

L'Shanah Tovah!

jrosemary@gmail.com (J. Rosemary Moss) — Mon, 29 Sep 2008 21:09:00 +0000

Happy New Year, everyone!

May you be sealed for a good year!

Who Shall Live...

jrosemary@gmail.com (J. Rosemary Moss) — Mon, 29 Sep 2008 03:11:00 +0000

Thanks, Geoff, for pointing this out: an intense, vivid depiction of a prayer said during the High Holy Days--this will make you think about the words!

~Shabbat Shalom~

jrosemary@gmail.com (J. Rosemary Moss) — Fri, 26 Sep 2008 21:52:00 +0000

Shabbat Shalom all!

Facing the Big Issues

jrosemary@gmail.com (J. Rosemary Moss) — Fri, 26 Sep 2008 14:43:00 +0000

As we're coming up to the High Holy Days--a time that really forces you to think about the big issues, including death--I couldn't help but be struck by the words of Randy Pausch. The professor's 'Last Lecture' will be much on my mind over the Days of Awe:

I Have Tefillin!

jrosemary@gmail.com (J. Rosemary Moss) — Mon, 22 Sep 2008 01:55:00 +0000

Yes, I ordered Tefillin--they arrived today. To the best of my knowledge, there's only one other woman in my shul who wears Tefillin, but I figure she needs company. (Ok, she's perfectly content with company or without it, but thinking that she'd like company provides me with an extra motive.)

To be honest, I've known from the start that I wanted to wear Tefillin. I like the idea of literally binding parts of the Torah to my arm and between my eyes. I'm guessing that's a pretty effective way of staying mindful of the Torah!

I'll be learning how to wear the Tefillin at the Sunday Minyan. In fact, I'll be learning along with the Hebrew School kids =P

We'll see how it goes...

~Shabbat Shalom~

jrosemary@gmail.com (J. Rosemary Moss) — Fri, 19 Sep 2008 20:11:00 +0000

Wow--a week has gone by since my last post here! I think that means it's time to slow down and take a deep breath...ok, that felt good.

Shabbat Shalom, y'all!

~Rose

~Shabbat Shalom~

jrosemary@gmail.com (J. Rosemary Moss) — Fri, 12 Sep 2008 22:40:00 +0000

I'm having a peaceful Shabbat dinner at home tonight. Then I'll try to lay off the computer at least a bit in honor of the Sabbath!

Actually, I'll have to. I'll be at shul tomorrow and then I'm getting together with a group of friends to play board games. So that'll force me not to spend too much time on line...

~Rose

~Reflections on Tisha B'Av and 9/11~

jrosemary@gmail.com (J. Rosemary Moss) — Fri, 12 Sep 2008 19:46:00 +0000

I have to admit that I had trouble feeling despair and horror at the destruction of the Temple this past Tisha B'Av. Don't mistake me: of course I mourned for the loss of life. And I understand that the destruction of the Temple (both the first and the second) must have seemed like a calamity. Few would have guessed, perhaps, that Judaism would not only survive but flourish.

The thing is, I have a hard time connecting to the whole idea of Temple worship. The Temple, after all, was a place of animal sacrifice. I hate the notion of slaughtering some poor animal as an act of atonement. Look, I didn't embrace my Christian heritage in part because I didn't want some nice Jewish boy dying for my sins. I don't want an animal dying for them either! To be honest, I hate even reading the sections of the Torah that deal with animal sacrifice.

Post-Temple Judaism insists on prayers, repentance and acts of loving kindness as a means of atonement. And that makes a whole lot more sense to me.

But yesterday, as I remembered what 9/11 was like, something of the unspeakable horror of Tisha B'Av got through to me. On 9/11 our whole world seemed to collapse as we watched the towers go down--in my area, right from our windows.

I'm not trying to weigh these different tragedies against each other--there's no point in that. But in remembering how shocked and shaken and terrified I was as the towers disappeared in smoke and debris, I can guess something of what our ancestors felt when their enemies turned the Temple to rubble.

And I'll try to carry that memory into next Tisha B'Av...

Leonard Nimoy Talks About Judaism & Star Trek

jrosemary@gmail.com (J. Rosemary Moss) — Tue, 09 Sep 2008 22:05:00 +0000

Ok, just in case there wasn't enough mention of Star Trek on this blog, I decided to share this excessively cool vid of a speech by Leonard Nimoy. He talks about Jewish values and Star Trek--and, of course, the origins of the Vulcan salute:

Captain Kirk's Yetzir HaRa and Yetzir HaTov

jrosemary@gmail.com (J. Rosemary Moss) — Mon, 08 Sep 2008 20:02:00 +0000

Have you seen the original series Star Trek episode called The Enemy Within? Kirk gets split into two separate Kirks due to a malfunction with the transporter: one Kirk is the sweetest guy imaginable, but with no willpower. The other Kirk has all the will in the world, but he's a scary bastard.

(Ok, ok--it's not a subtle episode. It kind of hits you over the head with a hammer to make it's point...)

Apparently, I'm not the only Jew to notice that this is a perfect example of what might happen if a person lost either his yetzir hara (evil inclination) or yetzir hatov (good inclination.) This article by David Holzel takes a look at the parallels...

~Shabbat Shalom~

jrosemary@gmail.com (J. Rosemary Moss) — Fri, 05 Sep 2008 21:16:00 +0000

I'm excited about this Shabbat--a good friend of mine just got back after spending the summer down South. We'll be catching up over dinner...

Shabbat Shalom!

~Rose

It's not the prayerbook~you're the one who's boring!

jrosemary@gmail.com (J. Rosemary Moss) — Thu, 04 Sep 2008 18:23:00 +0000

Bored to tears with the prayerbook and all the traditional liturgy? Here's an interesting article from The Jerusalem Post for those who just can't connect with the siddur. Bored Jews have to dig deeper--both in the siddur and in ourselves.

Thanks, Geoff, for pointing out this article!

Ritualizing the Scrub Brush

jrosemary@gmail.com (J. Rosemary Moss) — Wed, 03 Sep 2008 19:39:00 +0000

I'll admit it: I'm a slob. Every Friday I try to make sure that my apartment isn't ready to be declared a health hazard...but that's the extent of my interest in cleaning.

In fact, there are only two times a year that I feel compelled to rouse myself from my slovenly habits and turn my humble flat into a sparkling new creation: the weeks leading up to Passover and the weeks leading up to Rosh HaShanah.

Such is the power of ritual--it transforms annoying, time-consuming chores like washing and scrubbing and dusting and sorting into holy endeavors that help put you in the right frame of mind for the holidays. I hate to clean--but if I'm cleaning because God is renewing the year at Rosh HaShanah...because God is renewing creation at Rosh HaShanah...because I want a glistening apartment to reflect that new creation--well, suddenly there's a good reason for the scrub brush.

I'm not picky--left to myself, I can stand a mess. But suddenly, in the weeks leading up to Rosh HaShanah, cleaning becomes a way of raising God consciousness.

And that's part of the value of ritual, isn't it? That's one decent reason to bother with the kosher laws. It's one decent reason to light candles on Friday nights. When we engage in these activities, we remember God.

Good thing, because I find it easy to forget God when I'm not asking Him for something or bitching to Him about something else. I need reminders--even when they take the form of a scrub brush.

Ow, my head hurts...

jrosemary@gmail.com (J. Rosemary Moss) — Sun, 31 Aug 2008 15:24:00 +0000

So...the Haftarah I posted about here turned out not to be the Haftarah we read in shul yesterday, even though it was the proper Haftarah for the Shabbat right before Rosh Chodesh. We read Isaiah 54:11-55:5 instead--which also had a claim as the correct Haftarah, as it was designated for the third Shabbat after the 9th of Av, coiniciding with the parsha R'eith.

Ok, are we all clear on that? (No, I'm still scratching my head...)

~Shabbat Shalom~

jrosemary@gmail.com (J. Rosemary Moss) — Fri, 29 Aug 2008 20:00:00 +0000

I can't believe it's time for Shabbat already...and it's Labor Day weekend! Ok, who stole my summer?

I'm still only partially observant when it comes to Shabbat, but I do love lighting the candles. Sometimes family or friends are with me and we light them together...other times it's just me and my pet rat Niko. (Niko just watches...I can't say he really participates. But I think he enjoys the ritual.)

Tonight it'll probably just be me and Niko. But that's ok...I'll have lots of time with family and friends this weekend =)

A Bloody Good Story

jrosemary@gmail.com (J. Rosemary Moss) — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 21:08:00 +0000

Left: David and Jonathan 1290 AD--British Museum (Doesn't look anything like them, does it?)

This week's Haftarah is First Samuel 20:18-42. I think that's because Rosh Chodesh--the start of the new month--is the day after Shabbat. And the new month is determined by the new moon, which this section of Samuel conveniently mentions. (As in, "Tomorrow will be the new moon.")

But, to tell you the truth, I don't care why the rabbis chose this part of Samuel. I'm just glad they did. It's a great David-Jonathan scene--and part of a bloody good story.

In fact, I was going to try to draw some profound lesson from this Haftarah--but then I decided just to enjoy it as a great story. Does everything have to be a profound lesson? There's something to be said for reading parts of the Bible as literature...

Back to the story. I won't weigh in on whether David and Jonathan's relationship was one of intense friendship or something more. It's an intriguing question, but I'm no scholar and, besides, I like the way it's left ambiguous.

What I find fascinating is the fact that Jonathan chooses David over Saul--his father and his king--and over Saul's ambitions for him.

Before this scene, Jonathan has played the part of peacemaker between his father and David. But now the stakes are too high for that. Saul is growing more and more unstable and he's out to kill David. David's not about to risk returning to his service again.

Saul makes the issue clear to his son: David is too popular and he's too good a soldier. He's got the charm and the power to usurp Saul's throne. Therefore, as long as David's alive, he's a threat to Saul's dynasty...that is, to Jonathan's eventual kingship.

But Jonathan doesn't give a damn. He loves David as he loves himself, and so he continues helping David regardless. In fact, right before this scene, Jonathan accepted (perhaps not for the first time) that David will be king. He told David:

"May HaShem be with you, as He used to be with my father! While I live, show me the loyal love of HaShem; if I die, remain loyal to my house. When HaShem cuts off each of your enemies from the face of the earth, let not the name of Jonathan be cut off from the house of David."

I take that to mean: "I know the Lord favors you now as He used to favor my father. I know you'll be king. But you won't harm me while I'm alive and you won't harm my family when I'm dead in order to secure your claim to the throne."

That's a heck of a lot of trust to put in David! Jonathan's risking not only his own life, but the lives of his loved ones. It wasn't unheard of for a new king to murder off the family of any other possible claimants.

But...well, David seems to return Jonathan's love and devotion--so I suppose I can understand that trust. (And, in fairness, David's putting a heck of a lot of trust in Jonathan too. Jonathan holds David's life in his hands. There's nothing to stop him from betraying David to his father. Nothing but the covenant these two have made with each other and God.)

At any event, when Saul tells Jonathan that the throne is at stake, it's not news to Jonathan. Yet he refuses to bring David to him; he won't let Saul kill David. That's when Saul loses what little control he has--he lays some vicious insults on Jonathan and then hurls a spear at him. (Ah, no...these two didn't have an ideal father-son relationship.)

It's good stuff, this dynastic struggle between Saul and David and Jonathan--and even more complex than this Haftarah shows, for Saul's daughter was also part of the struggle. She sided with David too. (I'm guessing that Saul was a lousy father...and that David had the charisma of JFK, Ronald Reagan and Bill Clinton combined.)

It's too bad we won't get to read more of First Samuel this Shabbat...but I guess our services are long enough as it is =P

A Different Take on the Oral Law

jrosemary@gmail.com (J. Rosemary Moss) — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 21:01:00 +0000

Here's an interesting article from The Jerusalem Post about the Karaites--members of a branch of Judaism that rejects the authority of the rabbis and the Oral Law. (Thanks, Pete, for pointing this out!)

No, I'm not ready to abandon Conservative Judaism, but it's interesting stuff...

The Sunday Minyan~Also Known as Begging, Pleading, Harassing and Guilting People Until We Have Ten Jews...

jrosemary@gmail.com (J. Rosemary Moss) — Sun, 24 Aug 2008 16:29:00 +0000

I've found my calling: I can convince people--through the unscrupulous methods described in the title of this post--to come to my synagogue's Sunday minyan.

(For those of you unfamiliar with Judaism, a minyan is a quorum. You need 10 Jews of at least bar mitzvah age to have full services.)

Here's how I got roped into this: having grown up in a family that's largely Catholic, I was used to the idea of daily services. So I started to show up at my shul's Sunday minyan. On about my third time out, as we were chowing down after the service, a Ritual Committee meeting sprang up around us. I was stupid enough to voice my opinion on some issue--whereupon I found myself an official member of the committee. (That'll teach me to open my mouth!)

Now, at that point, I'd been a Jew for all of two months. It was hard to think of anything more ridiculous than me being on the Ritual Committee. And yet, as it turns out, there was something I could contribute: I could start an e-mail list for our Sunday minyan, begging people to show up.

You know what they say about enthusiasm: it's contagious. I started out with a small list, but I sent out fun, encouraging e-mails--sure they're harassing, but they're fun too--with extras like Star Trek inspirational posters (never underestimate the power of Star Trek.) And then other people began sending out fun stuff on the list--or serious questions about the liturgy or larger issues within Judaism.

People have started talking about both the list and the minyan and--well, since I started the list, we've gotten a minyan together every Sunday. It hasn't been easy, but we've all pulled together to make it happen. And, yeah, sometimes we've resorted to frantic phone calls. But now we're getting new faces and new e-mail addresses.

I can't tell you how impressed I am by the commitment and hard work of the Sunday minyan group. Especially since this is a lay-driven service: our lay members lead the davening. Fortunately, we have a bunch of people who know their Hebrew and know their liturgy. (Baruch HaShem!)

And we have a good time--that's key. Yes, the worship is serious, but we have fun doing it. And we get to tease our guys for their khaki shorts in the summer. (Khaki shorts, a t-shirt, sandals, a prayer shawl and tefillin: it's a look.)

Yeah, yeah...I'm going to break my arm patting myself on the back. But I can't afford to break my arm right now--I've got to send out the e-mail for next week's Sunday minyan.

~Shabbat Shalom~

jrosemary@gmail.com (J. Rosemary Moss) — Fri, 22 Aug 2008 20:40:00 +0000

Yeah, yeah--I was ranting a bit in that last post. But I'm over it...at least for the time being.

Now I'm wishing everyone a peaceful Sabbath!

Wait...you're saying I'm not a Jew?

jrosemary@gmail.com (J. Rosemary Moss) — Fri, 22 Aug 2008 16:09:00 +0000

One thing I've found out about converting to Judaism: what goes on in Israel suddenly becomes your problem.

No, the heads of state won't call you for advice. But, in and out of synagogue, people expect you to have strong opinions.

Don't mistake me--of course I'm grateful that Israel exists. And I pray for a peaceful solution to the Israeli-Palestinian dilemma. But you know what? That's the extent of my opinion on Israel's problems. And I'll be damned if I'm going to put any more energy into them.

Why should I? Israel doesn't even recognize me as a Jew.

That's right. Because I converted under a Conservative rabbi and beit din--a rabbinical court--Israel doesn't consider me Jewish. Even though my conversion was quite traditional and included a mikvah, I'm not a Jew in the eyes of Israel's government.

Can you tell that this rankles?

Some people have advised me to get an Orthodox conversion in order to square myself with Israel. But I won't do that. Nothing against the Orthodox, but I regard my conversion as fully valid. If I sought out an Orthodox rabbi, it would be as if I were saying there was something wrong with my Conservative conversion.

Besides, I'm an American, not an Israeli. I'm not planning to move to Israel, so it's a moot point. So maybe I shouldn't bother getting so angry about this.

Sigh...

Look, once I spend some time in Israel, I've no doubt that I'll feel a great deal of affection for the country--the same sort of affection I feel for my ancestral Ireland. But I'm not going to claim Israel's problems as my own. I'm just going to keep praying that cooler heads prevail over there and that they manage to forge a just, lasting peace between all parties.

But that's it--leave me out of the details.

If I'm Right, Are You Wrong?

jrosemary@gmail.com (J. Rosemary Moss) — Wed, 20 Aug 2008 13:29:00 +0000

I'm working my way through One People, Two Worlds...and I'm finding Yosef Reinman's contributions depressing. He believes so passionately in the revealed truth of Orthodox Judaism that he believes only Orthodox Judaism offers truth. Other branches of Judaism and other religions are true only in so far as they agree with his tradition.

But what's to prevent God from revealing Himself differently to different peoples and individuals? The theory behind religious pluralism is that we can judge different faiths--or different branches within a faith--only by their morals. Morality is universal, but theology is not. We can judge a faith (if, indeed, it's necessary to judge) by deeds, but not by creeds.

I understand God as the God of Israel; but that doesn't mean that a Hindu who understands God as Vishnu is wrong. Surely we can't shrink God to fit only one understanding?

Conservative Judaism and Orthodox Judaism have different ways of approaching halacha--Jewish law--but that doesn't mean one is right and the other is wrong. Surely halacha is too vast for one approach?

The I'm-right-so-you-must-be-wrong approach to life is a dangerous one. Especially when we apply it to matters we can't possibly prove. We're not going to find out the exact nature of God in this lifetime...so why not accept the possibility that views other than our own may have validity?

That seems a rational alternative to claiming views we have no hope of proving as the only truth...

What I'm Reading: One People, Two Worlds

jrosemary@gmail.com (J. Rosemary Moss) — Tue, 19 Aug 2008 19:09:00 +0000

I've read this book before--a Reform rabbi and an Orthodox rabbi go head-to-head in a series of letters. But I read it years ago, before I had any stake in the questions they raise. I didn't have any intention of converting to Judaism back then.

I'm not sure if I'll have a stake now. I'm a Conservative Jew, after all, and, from what I remember, this book lacks a Conservative voice. But I'm still looking forward to rereading it and watching both rabbis wrestle with each other and the larger issues involved...

The Jewish Origins of the Vulcan Salute

jrosemary@gmail.com (J. Rosemary Moss) — Tue, 19 Aug 2008 12:49:00 +0000

We all know that Leonard Nimoy based the Vulcan salute on Judaism's Kohanic blessing, right? Right?

Ok, just in case you didn't, this is an interesting essay about the origins of the Vulcan salute and other aspects of Judaism that made their way into Star Trek. The man who wrote it, Rabbi Yonassan Gershom, is both a Hasidic rabbi & a Star Trek geek. (As a fellow Star Trek geek, I don't mean that term as an insult!)

I found some interesting links there as well--Rabbi Gershom is into reincarnation, pacifism and animal rights. I've no opinion on the first (I'm not big on worrying about what, if anything, comes after death), respect for the second and full-approval for the third. But, honestly, I'm most interested in the Star Trek-Judaism connections. (Does that make me shallow?)

At any event, even if you already knew about the Vulcan salute, the essay's well worth a look.