Parent: “I hated Hebrew School, You’ll Hate Hebrew School and That’s Just the Way it is!

July 29th, 2010

After my first year as the Rabbi of the Lake Norman Jewish Congregation in Davidson, North Carolina, a parent came up to me and said: “Rabbi, I don’t know what my child’s teacher is doing, but my kid actually wants to come to Hebrew school.”  He went on to explain that he remembered his father saying the following to him: “I hated Hebrew school, you’ll hate Hebrew school, and that is just the way it is.”  He thought that he too would be put in the position of saying those same dreadful words to his child.  Luckily, Jewish education, and the school program at the LNJC, has broken that circle of religious education misery.

I strongly believe that Jewish education should inspire wonder about, and joy for Judaism.  This drives our school program. I am so proud of both our congregation but also the wider Jewish community in the Lake Norman and Charlotte region for their dedication to this vision.

The LNJC religious school is kicking off immediately before the 2nd annual “Shalom Lake Norman Jewish Festival” in order to maximize participation in the exceptional event planned by the Jewish Council of Lake Norman, which  is made up of the 5 Jewish organizations at the Lake.

The kick-off and festival is an opportunity to frame the whole year of Jewish learning in a “funJewcational ” (Fun + educational) way for all of our children. This is exactly what we are supposed to be doing as teachers of the next generation; inspiring our children to be thoughtful and engaged questioners and seekers.

I hope that everyone takes the opportunity to attend the Jewish festival. Tireless volunteers have spent countless hours planning every aspect of the Festival and it will be a fabulous event for the young, young-at-heart, and everyone in between.

An Early Shabbat Shalom Lake Norman,

-Rabbi Michael Shields

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Vote on Israeli Conversion Bill Stopped. Pluralism in Israel.

July 28th, 2010

We are very lucky as Reform Jews in America that we can celebrate our faith without fear of intrusion by government.  We also control our own destiny and are not subject to the whims of any other movement.  In Israel the reality is much different for Progressive Judaism.  See the paragraphs below and the links regarding the latest battle in the fight for religious equality in Israel for all Jews.

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From the Religious Action Web site:

Success was achieved today in stopping a Knesset vote on the conversion bill. No issue in recent memory has so mobilized Jews from all streams and all parts of Israel and the Diaspora as has the bill proposed by MK David Rotem to vest authority for conversions in the hands of the Chief Rabbinate. Tens of thousands of emails and faxes against the bill received by the Prime Minister’s office supported the conviction that the faith and practices of the overwhelming majority of the world’s Jews must not be delegitimized.

The Knesset has now adjourned until October. While a vote on the bill was prevented this week, there is more to be done. Over the next few months, we will continue to work with Prime Minister Netanyahu, Jewish Agency Chairman Sharansky, and MK Rotem to craft a bill that addresses the problems that currently characterize the conversion process in Israel and that respects all streams of world Jewry.

For more information go to:  http://urj.org/israel/rotem/

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Think about sending a letter to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

http://urj.org/kd/_temp/19F05248-0397-8D61-3B54EF917A1B051F/PMNetanyahu.pdf

Shalom Lake Norman,

Rabbi Michal Shields

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July 23? or something more?

July 24th, 2010

July 23 was a day like any other.  The temperature was already eighty degrees by 9am; and by noon it was 95.  My shirt began to stick to my body in the 30 feet from my front door to my car, and my tomato plants were already withering from the solar assault.  An iced coffee from Summit and my air conditioned office called to me like a siren.  It seemed like just another hot and sticky North Carolina summer day.

But after I got my cool coffee creation and found the comfort of my office chair, I realized that July 23 was not just any day, it was Friday, and that meant Shabbat was coming.

I pulled my sermon notebook from the top drawer of my desk and reviewed the sermon I had written earlier in the week. I began to hum the melodies we would use that evening to welcome the Shabbat.  I prepared some children’s activities for “Shabbat Kids,” our pre-service learning and singing time, and thought of what joy gathering as a Jewish community can bring.

Children sat on the special alphabet mat while singing the “Shabbat Dinosaur Song” and multiple rounds of Bim Bam.  Adults peppered me with questions about the different sections of the service, and together we learned two new melodies for Shabbat, and one melody that will make an appearance during the High Holy Days.  As a community we learned, we prayed, we greeted old friends and welcomed new ones, and of course after the service, we ate.

It was Shabbat and we were happy!

What an exciting time to be Jewish in Lake Norman:

-6 new families have joined us in just the past few weeks.

-We will be adding 4-6 new preschoolers and 8-10 new students to our religious school.

-We have hired a school principal

-We will have a teaching corp of at least 10 teachers.  4 of our teachers are Davidson College students and 6 are trained teachers.  We are going to be blessed with at least 15 adult volunteers and 6 madrichim (post-bnei Mitzvah teacher aides)

-We plan to have at least 3 major cultural/musical/educational events stopping at the congregation from the Institute of Southern Jewish Life.

-We continue to take important steps towards making a permanent home a reality in the near future.

I feel so lucky to be the Rabbi in Lake Norman and look forward to many more years of sacred covenant with the LNJC.

Shalom Lake Norman,

Rabbi Michael Shields

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Divorce in Judaism (as printed in Cornelius Today)

July 22nd, 2010

The Talmud, a record of rabbinic discussion, considers divorce a sad occurrence. However, it also recognizes that sometimes the parties in marriage are no longer compatible.  Traditionally, according to the Talmud, divorce could be given by a man for any reason.

The Reform movement has consistently asserted that marriage and divorce are subject to the laws of the land in which Jews reside.  The theologically more liberal movements of Judaism value the sacred bonds of partnership/marriage, but also recognize that divorce is sometimes the best and only remedy for an unhealthy relationship.

I believe our focus should shift to pre-marriage. The divorce rate for those who marry at twenty-one or twenty-two is double that of those who marry in their mid-twenties. We must encourage couples to take the time developmentally to “grow into themselves.” As a member of the clergy, I am in the business of marriage. However, I must be guided both by my religion and by the realities of our world and my knowledge of human development. Liberal Judaism recognizes the sanctity of marriage, but also the profound commitment that partnership entails.

Shalom Lake Norman,

Rabbi  Michael Shields

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The Lake Norman Jewish Congregation Continues to Thrive

July 22nd, 2010

It is with great excitement and anticipation that I bring you the news that the congregation has hired Kristine Mahoney to a 3 year contract as our Religious School Director.  Ms. Mahoney has a Masters degree in Education and brings a wealth of experience to the position.

Our congregation has grown from just 6 families in 2006 to more than 115 families today. In 2008 I was blessed to be brought to this community as the first full-time Rabbi in the Lake Norman region.

The hiring of Ms. Mahoney is an important step on our path of continued success.  The explosive growth of our congregation and our desire to continue providing an exceptional educational experience for our children led us to hire Kristine Mahoney.  With 72 students this past year and more than 80 students projected for the upcoming year, Ms. Mahoney will make it possible for the congregation to maintain the excellence we have achieved to date and enhance and expand our educational programming for children and adults. Moreover, she will serve as a pivotal partner for me as the Rabbi in curricular and programmatic development. We are thrilled to have her on board.

We continue to implement and refine our strategic plan.  Our vision drives our programming, and as our vision gets even more vibrant, so too does our programming.

Shalom Lake Norman!

-Rabbi Michael Shields

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URJ Camp Coleman (Our Jewish Summer Camp)

June 17th, 2010

The Blue Heron has a wing span of nearly 7 feet.  Did you know that? I learned that nature tidbit from a Bonim counselor who was pointing out one of nature’s wonders to his campers. I believe that a counselor’s job is to inspire his campers and in this Coleman counselors excel.

The first week of camp has been a whirlwind of activity. Bonim campers (the youngest) have bonded with their older buddy in Chalutzim by making Chocolate Chip Challah with sprinkles for their first Shabbat. Kochavim campers have “rocked out” to the Jewish music of Beth Schaefer.  Campers have tie-dyed, harvested the camp garden and fed the camp chickens. They have explored the land of Israel with our Israeli Scouts and challenged themselves on the ropes course and on the athletic fields. As campers have gotten to know each other, the lines between returning campers and new campers have begun to fade as camp songs and cheers become familiar to one and all.

As a Rabbi, I want the children from my congregation who come to Coleman to explore their Judaism in a safe, fun and nurturing environment. I want them to mature socially, gaining independence and exploring personal interests. Over the past week I have seen campers begin to do this, but they have also started to “own” their Judaism – to explore their Judaism – to love their Judaism. They recognize that they are part of a Jewish community and that their faith can empower them to live more meaningful lives.

Every day that I spend at Camp Coleman I learn something new; about myself, about Judaism, or about the Blue Heron. I cannot wait to hear what my camper learns next week.

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Mitzvah Day 5770

June 3rd, 2010

Almost 100 people from Lake Norman Jewish Congregation traded a bit of hard work for lots of fun on the group’s first Mitzvah Day Sunday, May 15.  The congregation lent a hand to clearing and beautifying the grounds of the Levine & Dickson Hospice House in Huntersville.

While the word “mitzvah” is often translated as a good deed, is actually means “commandment” or the fulfillment of a commandment.

“This was our first congregation-wide justice project,” said LNJC Rabbi Michael Shields. “It sets the bar for our congregation quite high and challenges us to continue such projects because as Jews this is what we are commanded to do.”

Almost 100 LNJC congregants pitched in for the day of work, which also marked the end of the religious school year.

“There is no more meaningful end to our religious school year than this project,” said Rabbi Shields.  “Over the course of the year we have been teaching what it means to be Jewish; that we are called by God to “tzedek tzedek tirdof”, pursue justice.  Our study and our prayer would have been empty had we not engaged in this mitzvah day and other acts of justice and peace throughout the year.”

Mitzvah Day at LNJC immediately preceded the Jewish holiday of Shavuot, which celebrates the giving of the Torah at Mount Sinai.

Rabbi Shields said, “It was quite appropriate that Mitzvah Day fell around the holiday festival of Shavuot. The work of our hands in helping others affirms our faith and re-dedicates us to that sacred covenant with God, with the Jewish People and with humanity.”

It is customary to eat a dairy meal at least once during Shavu’ot. It wasn’t hard to get the children of LNJC’s religious school to keep that custom. They took a break from weeding and mulching to make their own ice cream!

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International Adoption

May 10th, 2010

A wonderful article about the international adoption process written by a member of my congregation about a family in our congregation.

http://www.charlotteobserver.com/2010/05/05/1408086/born-cultures-apart-a-family-finds.html

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Stand Up for Peace: The Two Comedian Solution to Middle East Peace

April 23rd, 2010

Have you heard the one about the Jewish and Palestinian-American comedians? Scott Blakeman, a Jewish comedian and political commentator, and Dean Obeidallah a comedian and son of a Sicilian mother and a Palestinian mother came together for the first time in June 2002 to do a series of benefit shows for Seeds of Peace (http://www.seedsofpeace.org/), which promotes understanding between Palestinian and Israeli teenagers by bringing them together in a summer camp in Maine.

Dean and Scott believe that by sitting next to one another and laughing we can begin talking in substantive and useful ways about peace in the Middle East. Laughter can help break the ice before we talk about the suffering in the region and what might be done about it. Through comedy, the pair helps educate people about the conflict, which is a start.  So many people take a position on the Israeli conflict without even knowing the depth of complexity that characterizes the situation.

Scott and Dean came to Davidson College and performed for a crowd of about 100 students.  This comedy duo, while most certainly more left-wing in their orientation, is a humorous and useful way for any school, organization, synagogue, mosque, to initiate conversations about the situation in the Middle East.

See their website for additional articles about their act and other information:  http://www.standupforpeace.com/stand-up-for-peace-4.cfm

I highly recommend them!

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Holocaust Remembrance in Davidson, NC

April 19th, 2010

Yom HaShoah – Holocaust Remembrance

I had the honor of attending and participating in a Holocaust Remembrance ceremony organized by Beth Shalom of Lake Norman and their interfaith partners, St. Alban’s Episcopal Church.  Beth Shalom’s Rabbinical Intern, Corey Helfand, made the journey from New York City to facilitate the Holocaust Remembrance ceremony and Executive Vice President of Beth Shalom, Len Sadek, among others, put in an extraordinary amount of work to make the event happen.

Dr. Susan Spatz, a Professor Emerita at UNC Charlotte, spoke about her three years as a prisoner in Auschwitz-Birkenau. She left us with her chilling memories that help make real an experience for millions that is almost impossible to imagine.

Dr. Spatz speaks about her experience so we do not forget. With each passing day, our responsibility for telling the story of the Shoah grows as survivors wither and fade. Soon, they will be gone and all that will be left will be their stories. We must become their storytellers; for our own people and the rest of the world.

Below are the selections from Megillat HaShoah (The Shoah Scroll) that I read:

So much have I seen and so much have I yet to see, but what was revealed to me there I never could see again. All of the words in the world, created and yet to be created, in every single language, will never be able to describe even a small part of what was displayed before my eyes. And this too do I know: Never will I be able to forget, and never will I have the power to understand….

For all these do I weep, for infants who never learned to say, “Mommy,” for boys and girls whose youth was stolen from them, who withered before coming to blossom; for young men and women who were never blessed beneath the wedding canopy, for the elderly denied the privilege of a gracious old age; for the orchestras and for the music, and for all the world’s beauty whose rainbow of colors was lost, replaced by only brown and gray and black. For all these do I weep.

I struggled so hard before the veiled curtain, before the merciful and gracious One, of great kindness and truth. How I pled and how I begged, how I wanted to understand. Was all of this known on high? Was this the decree of God who is filled with compassion? This was the reward of such a nation? But there was no sound, and no response, only an exasperating silence. The Most High abides in secret, God dwells in the shadow of silence. Deep, hidden, and awesome are the events; no one understands them, not even echoes of the heavenly voice….

Time will tell what we have learned; only time will reveal whether we truly have listened to the voice fo the blood of the slaughtered crying out from the earth.

Do not mourn too much, but do not sink into the

forgetfulness of apathy. Do not allow days of darkness

to return; weep, but wipe the tears away.

Do not absolve and do not exonerate,

Do not attempt to understand.

Learn to live without an answer.

Through our blood, live!

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