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Vote on Israeli Conversion Bill Stopped. Pluralism in Israel.

Wednesday, 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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Divorce in Judaism (as printed in Cornelius Today)

Thursday, 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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Posted in Lake Norman Judaism, Questions posed by Cornelius Today, Uncategorized | No Comments »

The Lake Norman Jewish Congregation Continues to Thrive

Thursday, 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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Posted in Building a Jewish Community, Lake Norman Judaism, Meeting the Challenge of Jewish Education: Creating a Dynamic Educational Environment in the Community and at Home, Uncategorized | No Comments »

The Pain of Losing A Spouse is Singular (Issues around Sacred Aging)

Tuesday, April 6th, 2010

A recent article in the New York Times, The Pain of Losing a Spouse Is Singular, delves into the issues of loss surrounding the death of a spouse.  Here is the opening paragraph and the link for the article:

As my husband of 43 years approached the end of his life and the anguish within me welled like a dam ready to burst, I realized something both simplistic and profound – losing a spouse is nothing like losing a parent.

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/04/06/health/06cases.html?ref=todayspaper

For other resources and articles about Sacred Aging check out:  http://www.jewishsacredaging.com/

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Partnership is Community.

Wednesday, March 17th, 2010

The Jewish Community in the Lake Norman and North Charlotte region is growing. As a new community we have a unique opportunity to fashion a community that will embrace the many new innovations that have emerged in Judaism in the last decade. We can maintain meaningful liberal traditions and practices, reclaim and reframe traditional Jewish practices in our liberal religious context.  Most importantly, we can see every person in the community as partners in this exhilarating creation process.

Partnership is the most important word. As the Rabbi I want partners not members.  Partners help to build.  They invest their time and/or their resources. In my mind the title, “member” connotes  a private club whose members are served. They pay their fee and get ‘a’, ‘b’, and ‘c.’

In our congregation, it is true that I play a role as the Rabbi of the community; I teach, I facilitate worship, I provide guidance when appropriate. But without partners, our community will fail. Each of us brings are unique gifts to our shared table.  Our successes as a community have proven that though we still call it “membership,” we are truly partners in an exciting creation.  This is why we ask everyone to pledge financially what they are able, but honor all who wish to join us on our search for spiritual meaning through a welcoming Jewish community.

We have 75 religious school students in 8 classes who gather every Sunday to learn what it means to be Jewish.  We have 15 middle school kids that will lead our youth group movement. More than 60 people are spread over 10 committees.  Nearly 100 people from the congregation are coming together for our community seder.

I am so blessed to have sacred partners.  Please partner with us as we continue to grow, moving rapidly towards a home of our own.

Posted in Building a Jewish Community, Lake Norman Judaism, Uncategorized | No Comments »

Bringing the Torah to Life and/or Bringing Life to the Torah

Wednesday, March 17th, 2010

At a session I attended at the recent Central Conference of American Rabbis (CCAR) Convention, we discussed our relationship with Torah.  Do we find greater meaning in our lives through the study of Torah? Or, do our lives impact how we view the text? Do we see ourselves in the text and in that way find comfort or holiness in ourselves because we share many of the same strengths, weaknesses, insecurities, flaws found in the Biblical characters?

I believe it is some combination of the two positions.  The text of our tradition and the text of our lives are traveling along the same road. Sometimes the flow of Torah infuses our lives with meaning and sometimes the river of our lives flows into the Torah, bringing it to life.  The intertwining and flows of Torah and our lives can be an exciting dance.

Just some thoughts…..

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The Well Connected Rabbi and Congregation

Saturday, March 13th, 2010

Social media is the wave of the future. A session at the most recent CCAR Convention challenged us to explore how Facebook and other social media can be entry-points for community and tools to increase connection.

Facebook (twitter, etc. etc) is a river. While it is difficult to have a constant stream of information flowing by, through, and around us, if we do not enter the stream, then we will not be able to meet our congregants when they choose to “dip” in to the great Facebook river.

Facebook is a conduit for connection and is often less “scary” as a first point of contact than a synagogue or a formal Jewish educational experience.  It is another way that people in every generation can link in to “their people,”  Am-LNJC (The People of the Lake Norman Jewish Congregation), and therefore also the larger Jewish People.

So, congregants, please join Facebook and link with me.  Join our community’s facebook group. Help us share the dynamic congregation we are literally building.

I hope to use Facebook to enhance our communal impact here in the Lake Norman and Charlotte region, and across North Carolina. When people are thinking about a geographical move, they should know that a new, loving community is based here in Davidson.

Some links to have:

Our Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=56271990719&ref=ts

My Blog, The Lake Norman Rabbi: www.mjshields.com

Our Causes Page on Facebook:  http://apps.facebook.com/causes/birthdays/286147?m=d1bec4b9

Posted in Building a Jewish Community, Lake Norman Judaism, Uncategorized | No Comments »

The Reform Congregation of Lake Norman

Thursday, March 4th, 2010

I feel so lucky to be the full-time rabbi of the Reform Congregation in Lake Norman (www.lakenormanjc.org) but also to be a part of a community in the Lake Norman region that is blessed with a liberal/Reform and a conservative choice.

If one is a Conservative Jew, Beth Shalom of Lake Norman can provide an intimate setting in which more traditional and ritually conservative Jews can connect and find support in navigating the ins and outs of Conservative Judaism (dietary laws, halakhah, t’fillin, mikveh, etc.)

Our Reform/liberal Congregation (as written in the Movement’s Statement of Principles) enables  the Jewish People and individuals to embrace “innovation while preserving tradition, to embrace diversity while asserting commonality, to affirm beliefs without rejecting those who doubt, and to bring faith to sacred texts without sacrificing critical scholarship.”

Reform Judaism recognizes the realities that Jews face in the 21st century, and seeks to facilitate authentic connection with Jewish culture, religion, and tradition.  Reform Judaism helps individuals and families as they strive for religious meaning, moral purpose and a sense of community.

See the following link for the full “Statement of Principles of the Reform Movement” adopted in Pittsburgh in 1999.

http://ccarnet.org/Articles/index.cfm?id=44&pge_prg_id=4687&pge_id=1656

An Excerpt from “A Commentary on the Principles of Reform Judaism”

The rise in mixed marriage and the embrace of Jews of patrilineal descent (children of one Jewish parent who were raised as Jews) had changed the demographics of the Reform Movement, contributing to a growing desire for increased learning, spiritual expression, and guidelines for Reform ideology. Women’s increased influence in the Movement (from three women ordained in 1976 the number had grown to over 250 by 1999) had changed much of the language and approach of Reform, and the Movement had pioneered in opening doors of Jewish life (including ordination) to gay and lesbian Jews.

Reform Judaism is moving forward and can lead the way in revitalizing Judaism in the 21st century.

Reform Judaism is committed to:

The complete equality of women and men in Jewish life.

Reaching out to all Jews across ideological and geographical boundaries.

Inclusivity: providing a home for all who seek a Jewish experience.  Our movement is enriched by those who choose to convert to Judaism and the non-Jewish partners raising Jewish children.

For the full text see:  http://ccarnet.org/Articles/index.cfm?id=45&pge_prg_id=4687&pge_id=1656

I look forward to the months and years ahead as we build a vibrant Jewish congregation, with a home of our own, in the Lake Norman and North Charlotte region.  Join us on this adventure: www.lakenormanjc.org.

If you are looking for a conservative congregation Beth Shalom of Lake Norman is a loving and warm congregation: www.bslkn.org


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Posted in Building a Jewish Community, Lake Norman Judaism, Uncategorized | No Comments »

Miracles

Wednesday, March 3rd, 2010

“The early Rabbis (200-600 AD) affirmed the truth of the miracles in the Bible, yet still had trouble accepting miracles that violated the laws of nature. They resolved this tension by explaining that the miracles were in fact natural events engineered by God. For example, God planned the earthquake that would bring down the walls of Jericho. Some Jewish thinkers (Saadiah Gaon and Maimonides) posited that descriptions of miracles were not meant to be taken literally. They were instead meant to reflect a prophetic experience of dream or vision. We can view miracles in the Bible in a metaphorical or allegorical manner.

On a practical level, I personally believe that we bring about miraculous events through our partnership with others and our sense of holiness (God) in our lives as we perform sacred acts of Tikkun Olam (repairing the world). Miracles require that we do our part. ‘Pray as if everything depends on God but then act as if everything depends on you.’”

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An inspirational quotation about pursuing our destiny

Thursday, January 28th, 2010


Patrick Overton Watch your thoughts they become words. Watch your words they become actions. Watch your actions they become habits. Watch your habits they become character. Watch your character it becomes your destiny.

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