What Next?

Hi, Everyone,

So what will be our next unit? I will have some suggestions, as will you. Let's process them together and see what comes to the fore.

Assume the unit will be ten weeks long,

Two ideas from me to start things off:

1. We could dedicate ourselves to recrafting how the Shacharit service is done, not by eliminating the liturgy, but by spreading the readings out the various people, by altering how we use music and how much we use, etc. The advantages of such a project are two: First, in revising the service, we will become deeply familiar with its structure and the interplay and relative importance of its elements
2. We could do a study on David Stern's remarkable, prophetic book, Messianic Jewish Manifesto as a means of developing a six week course on Messianic Judaism using it as a text. That course would be taught at Ahavat Zion or at the Stern Center.
   
3. We could work together on my book, "I Am The Door: Yeshua and Jewish LIfe--Entrance Not Exit." I would work on one chapter each week and the class would read, review, critique and improve it. At the end we would have a book for publishing.
   

What do you think of these ideas? And do you have any others?

Do tell!

Rabbi Stuart

Assignments for October 27, 2007

Dear Everyone,

Here it is, a trifle late. Let's read this stuff during the next two weeks and all prepare to discuss it. This is interesting material and I am sure our discussion will be stimulating.

Because I will be out of town next week, and not in easy proximity to a computer, we will break our normal pattern and have reading BOTH weeks, rather than the second week concentrating on questions.

In vew of this, see if each or you can come up with three questions for each week's readings, and share these questions plus our comments on the blog. I will join in when and as I can.

This week - Read . . .
SOS – Chapter 3-4 (God; Israel);
Wolfson - Chapter 3-4;
Donin - Chapter 1

Next week - Read . . .
SOS - Chapter 7 (World to Come);
Wolfson - Chapter 9-10;
Donin - Chapter 21

Shalom!

Be careful out there!

Boro Park Symposium Report

Dear Friends,

Sorry you have had to wait for this!

Thanks for praying for me this week. My presentation went very well--I elected to do an effective oral presentation (lots of eye contact, index cards held in the hand as prompts for speaking instead of head done, reading from a text). I regret that very few people if any at all are ready to make major adjustments in their world view--(turning from the theological conviction of the expiration of Torah to the demands of learning a Torah lifestyle), and from their traditions of piety (convictions about what it means to be "saved," who is and who is not, how one knows, drawing lines in the sand as to who is in and who is not, etc.). However, I do believe I delivered the message God assigned me, and of course, all participants have the paper to read and digest, if they will. I fear that more will read the paper for ammunition than will for edification.

Such is life.

Thanks again for praying. This week I will be bringing a couple of papers from the Conference for all of of us to read and digest. Good ones! I have more than we can cover, and you will find this interesting.

See you shabbat. And thanks again.

Rabbi Stuart

First of Two This Week - Me at The Boro Park Symposium

Hi guys,

As promised, here is some data about me at the Borough Park Symposium.

I will be speaking on Tuesday morning, October 9, somewhere around 10:00 AM I would guess, as I am the second of three speakers. I expect there will be a presentation by each of us, followed by a discussion following each speaker. Since the morning sesssion goes from 9:00 AM to noon, my guess is each speaker will speak for twenty minutes followed by forty minutes of discussion, followed by the next speaker.

If they do it otherwise, then all three of us will speak in the first hour (me second, speaking at about 9:20-9:30 AM, followed by two hours of discussion.

Just for fun . . . and for our discussion together, look at the website for the symposium and learn what you can. Have fun, you insiders, you.

http://boroparksymposium.com/

I will log to see comments here, and also give you a new reading assignment no later than Tuesday night.

And thanks again for you help today.

Stuart

For August 16

Hi Gang,

Sorry I'm a bit late.

In keeping with our decision last shabbat, we are going to leap to the readings that were intended for August 25 and do them NOW, to discuss them on at the synagogue on the 18th. Here they are:

SOS - Chapter 8 (Shabbat); O and J - Chapter 4 (Entering Shabbat); Wolfson Chapter 11-12; Donin - Chapter 5.


Also, be reviewing the Kinzer CD on Shabbat liturgy between now and then. Our next session together will be all about Shabbat observance, and we will be doing at least as much practicing as discussing.

Also, between now and then, let's continue interacting on the previous blog post page about the readings of last week. I will be commenting there later today, and regularly until we meet.

Shalom.

Stuart

For August 4 - Mea Culpa, Mea Maxima Culpa - My Bad!

Dear Gang,

Sorry to have been so preoccupied and behind these weeks. No excuses, here, but an explanation. Too scattered and busy.

The reading for this week is somewhat light, so see if you can get up for this shabbat by doing the following:

SOS - Chapter 6 (Jewish Worship);
O and J - Chapter 5- Daily Prayer;
Wolfson –Chapter 7-8.

See you soon!

The Rabbi Guy

Toward Preparations for July 14

Hi Folks!

Sorry to be a little late in getting things up here. I have continued to be busy since I saw you last. Neither Sunday nor Monday was a day off.

Here are the assigned readings for July 14. And remember! There will be a test, probably 20 questions, on that date involving these readings PLUS the previous readings.

SOS - Chapter 5 (Service of God);
O and J [Olitzky and Judson] - Forward and Introduction; Chapter 3 (The Broad Spectrum of Kashrut); Chapter 8 (Covering the Head);
Wolfson – Chapter 5-6;
Donin – Chapter 2.

And DO practice and regularly just listen to the Kinzer CD.

You can begin posting questions or comments this week, but they will be continued next week on another blog page.

Shalom!

Stuart

Welcome AZS Adult Bar/Bat Mitzvah or Intro to Judaism People to Mitzvaholics!

Hi, Everyone,

Well, here it is. If you want to post a comment on the blog, just hit the comment button at the end of this posting and follow the directions! Just log on and say something like, "I'm here!" or something like that.

For this week, your job will be to do the assigned readings (listed at the end of this posting), and to formulate three good questions you would like me to address, or would like the class to discuss: some questions growing out of your readings. If you can say what in your reading inspired each question, so much the better.

If you will post your questions at the bottom of this blog posting, and subsequent postings, no later than Sunday, June 17, we will then be able to spend the following week on the blog interacting about the questions. And yes, you may log in and post more than once--and you may log in with your comments about other people's questions too. But of course, please stick to the subject at hand--ALWAYS--and be nice!

Remember--your first priority this week will be do your assigned readings, and of course listen to the Kinzer CD and practice with it. And then, to generate three good questions no later than next Sunday, June 17.

Welcome aboard!

Rabbi Stuart

Assigned Readings

In addition to the following readings, you should do all you can to master the melodies and liturgy on the Kinzer CD’s, working on this regularly, and of course, especially in conjunction with your home shabbat observance

The readings after each date indicate what you should have read in advance of that date. The plan is to read these readings one week, then to post questions about them the blog no later than the Sunday at the beginning of the second week. During that week, we will interact on the blog about what we have been reading in preparation for the class to follow.

In advance of Shabbat June 23 –
SOS [Settings of Silver] Chapter 1-2 (What is a Jew? Torah); Wolfson - Chapter 1-2; Donin - Chapter 5.

Any questions . . . call or e-mail me.

Shalom!