Blog Archives

What Is Haftarah and How Do I Chant It?

12/31/2020

Rabbi Milder of Congregation Beth Emek in Pleasanton recently share this description of Haftorah. You'll see that he is offering a class on how to chant. The cost to non-members of Beth Emek is $60. Take a look at the details.

The highlight of Shabbat morning is the chanting of Torah and Haftarah.

What is Haftarah? In spite of the similarity of the words, Haftarah has nothing to do with the word Torah. Torah means instruction, from a root meaning “to aim.” Haftarah, however, comes from a root meaning “conclusion.” It refers to the reading from the Prophets, which was implemented by the Rabbis as a conclusion to the Torah reading.

Haftarah was introduced in order to emphasize that the books of the Prophets are sacred. Unlike Torah, however, we only read selections from the Prophets over the course of the year. These excerpts are usually related thematically to the week’s Torah portion, but for certain weeks of the year, the Haftarah has to do with the season and its holy days.

One of the things that distinguishes the Haftarah reading from the Torah reading is that they are chanted to different melodies. The “trope” signs used to indicate the melody are the same signs, but they are sung differently when applied to Haftarah. Most of Torah reading can be thought of as being in a major key, while most of Haftarah can be thought of as being in a minor key.

Learning to chant Haftarah is like learning a set of musical patterns, and then applying each pattern (2 – 6 notes) to a word. It is fascinating, musically expressive, and a wonderful way to communicate the meaning of the text.

Anyone who has a basic Hebrew reading ability can learn to chant Haftarah. One of the advantages of Haftarah over Torah chanting is that the Haftarah may be sung from a printed text, including the vowels and trope signs, unlike Torah, which is chanted from a handwritten scroll. It’s a whole lot easier to remember!

I invite you to enroll in this winter’s adult ed class, Learn to Chant Haftarah. In seven sessions, I will teach you this beautiful melody. You’ll be able to chant a Haftarah passage when you are done!

Class begins on Sunday, January 10, from 3:00 – 4:00 pm online. We will meet on Sundays when there is religious school.

Enroll now at Learn to Chant Haftarah.

Rabbi Larry Milder

NOTE: You must be able to read Hebrew enough to recognize letters and pronounce words.

0 Comments

My rabbi doesn’t understand what Christmas means to me

12/24/2020

0 Comments

(This article originally appeared in my column Mixed and Matched in the J-weekly)

Dear Dawn: I am single and have no Jewish relations. But I have taken years to determine that I want to be Jewish. I am working on converting. I have one problem. My rabbi tells me that I have to give up Christmas. I have never practiced another religion, including Christianity, but I have always had Christmas with my extended family when I lived in the same state. When I moved away, I continued to decorate my house, including a tree. I love the smell of an evergreen tree. I love the lights and the special feelings of a holiday that it feels like the entire world is celebrating. I honestly don’t think my rabbi can understand how I feel because it is a lifelong practice for me and he has never done it. Do you have any suggestions? I’m at a standstill. I refuse to lie to him and currently I just can’t say I’ll give up having a tree. — Stuck

Dear Stuck: I think you are right that your rabbi can’t personally understand how you feel about Christmas. In America there is no Jewish holiday that the entire country celebrates. It might be helpful to have a frank discussion with him and articulate how this change feels for you — in detail. Being heard out is very powerful. I hope he will not waste time telling you why you need to give up Christmas and will simply affirm your feelings of loss.
If you were having an Orthodox conversion, the process would take a few years and you would be able to experiment with reducing Christmas traditions while at the same time increasing the role Judaism plays in your life. Since you are converting in one of the less stringent streams of Judaism, the process will typically take about one year. That means a student can potentially go from a year in which they have Christmas with all the trimmings to a year in which there is no Christmas at all. That kind of change is dramatic and can be quite hard. I think you need time to build up your Jewish practice, as well as your Jewish emotional and communal bonds. Right now you are thinking about going from “plenty” to nothing.
There is no rule that you must convert in a single year. Consider talking to your rabbi about taking your time to transition into being Jewish. Spend an additional year having Shabbat every week and attending shul for holidays, classes and social activities. Build your circle of Jewish friends. Begin imbuing each Jewish holiday with meaning and memories. Be sure to spend them with friends and with family, if that is possible. Make a point of starting a food tradition around your practice. Books like Joan Nathan’s “Jewish Holiday Cookbook” can help you get started.
If you intend to give up Christmas eventually, you could try talking to your rabbi about making it a gradual process after your conversion.
I am struck by how hurried some students are about becoming Jewish. They act like it is a race and the first one there wins. That simply is not true. Becoming Jewish takes time, and growing as a Jew takes a lifetime. The trip to the mikvah is just one stop on the journey of a Jewish life. Don’t let anyone pressure you to move faster. If you need to, you can take several years to make the transition.
You are not alone in this challenge. Many people who want to convert or are converting really balk at the idea of giving up the tree. This symbol is so loaded. For those who have celebrated all their lives, it is often deeply emotional. There are family memories that are wrapped up in the smells, sights, sounds and ambiance of this time of year. Not observing the holiday means that you may feel lonely and left out at times as the world around you embraces Christmas from September through December. That’s a pretty long time.
Being different is part of being Jewish. Finding community and meaning in that difference is central to living as a Jew.
Finally, many Jews by birth and Jews by choice do celebrate Christmas. You could find another rabbi for whom giving up Christmas is not a requirement. You must decide how you want to live as a Jew. If you decide to be a Jew with a tree, please don’t justify it as “not religious or important.” Be honest and say it is important, and be frank about your reasons.

0 Comments

One Synagogue's Conversion Program

12/4/2020

0 Comments

Most rabbis have a very personal approach to working with a conversion student. However, some synagogues spell out their process on their website. I want to share with you the conversion program at Sherith Israel in San Francisco. I love that they use shul members as mentors to each student. This is certainly something you could ask for if your rabbi doesn't mention it. Often a member will help to integrate you into the community and host you for Shabbat dinner or holiday activities.

Here is description I received from Lisa Erdberg.

Congregation Sherith Israel’s “Journey to Judaism” program is both welcoming and rigorous. The San Francisco Reform synagogue’s program derives its strength from the collaboration among clergy, volunteer mentors, and seekers. Senior Rabbi Jessica Zimmerman Graf leads the clergy team and congregant Lisa Erdberg serves as the “mentor macher,”* coordinating the program.

“Journey to Judaism” is a three-part program; the first part consists of a 14-session “Introduction to Judaism” course, followed by a basic Hebrew course; the second part involves one-on-one work with a volunteer mentor, who creates a personalized experience for the individual and helps them learn to “do” Jewish; the final part consists of meetings with a member of the clergy team to discuss some of the more challenging aspects of Judaism. The culminating experience is the Beit Din, mikvah, and formal welcoming in the congregation at a Shabbat service.

Creating a personalized experience for each individual through the relationship with a dedicated mentor is an essential aspect of Sherith Israel’s program. We endeavor to meet each individual where they are and provide the type of experience they need, whether it’s more experientially-oriented or more intellectually-oriented - everyone’s needs are different and are honored. We also emphasize that the journey to Judaism is ongoing, a lifelong undertaking for those who choose to set out on the path.

* Macher or makher: Yiddish word meaning influential person, fixer," literally, "maker,"

You can find Sherith Israel's program detailed here.

0 Comments

Did you ever fear going to hell if you converted?

12/1/2020

3 Comments

A woman who is contemplating conversion to Judaism asked me the following question. I posed the question to our list of Jews by Choices. Beneath her question I have listed the caring answers.

(Note: A number of people expressed concern that this woman wasn't ready to convert and who is her rabbi that isn't picking up on her worries. She is NOT yet working on conversion. These are theoretical concerns as she ponders the meaning of conversion.)

I have a sense of anguish when thinking hypothetically of converting and I feel a sense that I'm going to hell; do other converts feel this way? A sense of loss?

#1 This is only partially related, but I left the religion I was raised in during my mid-20s, about 10 years before I started studying Judaism for conversion. But the process of leaving that Christian religion in my 20s came with all kinds of “deprograming” that I had to work through. Many religions that are “high cost” (meaning they ask a lot of social and identity commitments from adherents) actually create deep mental and emotional pathways in our brains that can take years of work to get through. In Judaism, this would be like growing up Hasidic and then trying to leave your Hasidic community in your 20s. Even moving from Hasidic Judaism to Conservative or Reform Judaism is a huge cultural, mental, and emotional transformation, and it’s the *same* religion. Does that make sense?

So from my experience, that this woman has her old religion’s claims on her rearing up during the conversation process makes sense and is relatively normal, especially if she grew up in a kind of Christianity that actually believes in hell (many mainline and liberal versions of Christianity downplay or reject the idea of hell completely (and Catholicism is split on the issue across a spectrum), so she sounds like she was probably raised more conservative evangelical?).

Anyway, I don’t know that it helps much, but whether or not she ultimately converts to Judaism, it can be important part of leaving a religion that has a firm hold on our habits of mind to practice reminding ourselves, “I don’t believe that anymore” or “that was what I was taught, but I don’t believe in that.” A lot of self-compassion and awareness are required.

Of course I’m coming from a particular background and my (Mormon) baggage is heavy and still at age 50 can rear its head in unexpected and painful ways (usually in other areas of my life, not in my Judaism).
Asher

#2 Never, ever thought I was going to hell if I converted. Never! Ever! I had long before stopped believing in my Catholic (Christian) religion before I even considered Judaism. Maybe she is not ready.
Shira

#3  Not being a hell-believer, this isn't anything I can personally relate to but I do have some thoughts. Christianity has a very well-developed sense of Hell (over-developed in my opinion) with eternal damnation etc. In that sense, it's a "negative" religion with the threat of Hell hanging over everything and where it's all about avoiding Hell at all costs. Meanwhile, Judaism has its Sheol but that seems pretty vague and is less defined, not much talked about, and is less of a "moving force" in Judaism, which is a more "positive" religion where it's all about doing the right thing, as opposed to the dread of doing something bad like going to Hell.

If the writer is concerned enough to ask the question then my gut feeling is she is considering conversion too soon. She might consider waiting till her sense of Christian Hell is lessened, which she could do by studying up on the "positive" aspects of Judaism, and thus not dwell on the "negative" aspect of Christianity.

Which is not to say Christianity is all negative, but Fear is a big deal in many forms of Christianity and I don't see that in Judaism much, certainly not to the same extent. A "kindly" Christianity would say "thanks for being part of us but we respect your need to move on to Judaism", whereas a "negative" Christianity would say "you are a sinner for jumping ship and you will go to Hell for it". So a concurrent approach would be to re-craft her outgoing Christian thinking to where she sees her form of Christianity in the kindly category, one which allows her out without retribution.
Eliezer

#4  There are a variety of emotions that I had to resolve during my conversion to Judaism. Christianity definitely brainwashes people that the ONLY way into heaven is by believing in Jesus. I have Christian friends who try to guilt trip me into converting to Christianity. They don't know that I converted from Christianity to Judaism because that would be opening up a can of worms so I never share that fact with them. After they try to guilt trip me, I just smile at them and remain silent then move the conversation away from the topic.

BUT with that said...

Based on fishing expeditions by well-intended Christian friends, I have felt from time to time the guilt trip a little bit. But it's the type of guilt that you feel when someone shames you for something, even when you know you did nothing wrong. I’ve had that done to me as a cruel control mechanism.

Christianity teaches that you are guilty just by being born (that's the concept known as original sin), that there is no way G-d can forgive you by your own merits, and that Jesus MUST continually intercede on your behalf otherwise you will be sent straight to hell when you die, where you will burn FOREVER with no hope of reprieve. So if you repent with wailing and gnashing of teeth in this lifetime, you can be forgiven only through God's grace bestowed to you in your pitiful condition. But you have to continually ask for forgiveness, so "forgiven" is not the end of the story. In the analogy of a court of law, in Christianity G-d is the judge AND the jury. Christianity as a whole preaches the ONLY salvation is through the "blood of the lamb (meaning Jesus who died on the cross to redeem us from sin)." That message is a very persistent drumbeat. One hears it MULTIPLE TIMES in every service and in every lesson.

But in Judaism, G-d is the defending attorney! This is a huge paradigm shift. If you have been brainwashed, it takes time to fully embrace the new paradigm. And with Jewish guilt added in, well you get my point. LOL

So... when I reflect back on the fact that converting to Judaism was the ONLY place that I felt at home, I quickly got over the guilt trips. But I can definitely understand if someone is wrestling with this. Especially if they recently left Christianity.
Miriam Eliana

#5 I was quite perplexed with the question. Conversion is a long and very personal process. I am sensing at this particular point, she is still considering. That's OK to ponder with questions in order to seek the personal answers -- it is nothing to be shameful about. There is a reason we study with Rabbi and get involved in the community during conversion process.
Binah

#6  Good heavens. If she believes that part of her religion, why on earth is she considering converting? For me, the whole "you're going to hell if you don't believe this" piece of Christianity never EVER sat well with me. I nodded my head in agreement because I was trying with every fiber of my being to believe it. The alternative to believing it being an eternity of consumption by flames. What a relief to find a religion that encourages me to question everything (thanks, Judaism!) and that doesn't have any firm belief (as far as I know of) about what happens when a person dies. I love the quote I heard from a rabbi on NPR once who said something to the effect of: "The people who tell you what happens when you die don't know; the people who know what happens when you die can't tell you."

This woman doesn't sound like she's ready to convert or to even consider it a hypothetical option if she can't shake the belief of hell for "non-believers" in the afterlife.
Ruth

3 Comments

What Is Haftarah and How Do I Chant It?

My rabbi doesn’t understand what Christmas means to me

One Synagogue's Conversion Program

Did you ever fear going to hell if you converted?

Thoughts from our Email List

Categories

Archives