Introduction

Many small Jewish communities around the world do not have Rabbis to guide them on a regular basis.  They are usually very self-sufficient on a week to week basis.  From time to time, however, questions may arise for which they need the knowledge and experience usually provided by a Rabbi (Rabbis in the Progressive Movement - Reform, Liberal, Reconstructionist, Renewal etc), undertake a rigourous training program, usually at leats five years post-graduate, which includes not only the traditional sources such as Bible, Talmud and Midrash, but also Practical Rabbinics, Counselling and Congregational Practice.

In the regions of the world covered by the Union for Progressive Judaism (Australia, New Zealand and Asia), we have in place a system of 'Consulting Rabbis'.  Congregations in our movement that do not employ their own Rabbi, either temporarily or permanently, are allocated a 'Consulting Rabbi' who is working in another congregation in the region, and is familiar with the rules and practices of the region (to which, in our case, those congregations are obligated with regard to matters of Jewish status). 

For ease of access, quick reference, and for general interest, I have put up some responses to questions that have been asked, or could have been asked, by congregations.  I have been a Progressive Rabbi for over 25 years, graduating in 1988 in London, and since 2003 I have been working in this region, based at the Leo Baeck Centre for Judaism in East Kew (http://lbc.org.au/), in Melbourne's Eastern Suburbs, and have been Consulting Rabbi for several of our smaller congregations over that time.  I also supervise the on-line 'Introduction to Judaism' course which you'll find more about at http://pjv.org.au/education/introduction-judaism-0, and which has been useful to several of our smaller congregations who don't have many of their own adult education courses.

In that connection, I have produced a Hebrew learning course, Hebrew from Zero, designed for adult self-learning, available from Amazon at
http://www.amazon.com/Hebrew-Zero-unique-easy-Edition/dp/1466462183/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1382330375&sr=8-4&keywords=jonathan+keren-black
or Fishpond at http://www.fishpond.com.au/Books/Hebrew-from-Zero-Jonathan-Keren-Black/9781466462182
and also edited an introduction to Progressive Judaism called 'Judaism for the Twenty-First Century', available from Amazon at http://www.amazon.com/Judaism-Twenty-First-Century-Rabbi-Tobias/dp/1456307576/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1382330375&sr=8-3&keywords=jonathan+keren-black
or Fishpond at http://www.fishpond.com.au/Books/Judaism-for-Twenty-First-Century-Rabbi-Pete-Tobias-Rabbi-Jonathan-Keren-Black/9781456307578
These, as well as the prayer book 'Mishkan T'filah World Union Edition' are also available from the synagogue office, +613 9819 7160 (9am to 2pm M-F) or email office@lbc.org.au

Finally - why is this blog dated 2013?  That is my 65th birthday - and a way to ensure that this Introduction stays at the top of the list even as new items are added after today!  So I lied to the system - but for a good reason.  Sorry!

WHEN SOMEONE IS DYING

I received this sad message, and it is not uncommon:

My husband has been quite ill recently. He was diagnosed with prostate cancer and had an operation in January. He

then had an infection whilst on holiday and spent two weeks in hospital. When we came home he got another 

infection. He fell because of he was so weak with the infection and is now in the local Hospital.  He is so weak he 

just lies in bed unresposively most of the time. I spoke to his consultant who said I was right to be worried about him

because the antibiotics weren't working. He hasn't been eating or drinking much at all. He has lost loads of weight 

and is very weak and dehydrated. They have now put him on a drip for the dehydration and have given him the 

meal replacement drinks to boost him up. It is so sad to see him like this. I spend most of the day beside his bed 

but sometimes he doesn't even know I am there. Say some prayers for him, please, Rabbi. 

Rabbi Jonathan responded: 

It is so sad to hear this news, and it is hard to be much help from afar, but, though we never give up 

hope, we also need to be realistic, and I am going to say a few things about dying which I hope may 

help - I hope that is OK.  I visited someone in hospital today in a similar position.  I was able to discuss

with her and her daughters the option that Victoria (but none of the other parts of Australia) now have,

of assisted dying (at least for the terminally ill).  Not that she should use it, but that it gives her control

of her destiny, when she is losing her dignity and is in continual pain and discomfortt and anxiety.  In 

my Yom Kippur Yizkor memorial service sermon, I talked about the fact that God does not take life, but

gives us all (and every thing in the universe) finite life.  At some point, each of us has had enough, 

and it sounds as if perhaps Lawrence is reaching that point.  Only God is eternal.

On Monday I did a funeral and prayers for a lovely woman of 93 - she was losing her sight and fearful of 

going completely blind.  Her motto was 'Be lucky in life: be lucky in death.'  She had a massive stroke - 

her husband found her in the shower, fallen against the door.  He could not get in, but the ambulance 

came quickly and used a ladder to get inside, to move her and to open the door.  She was still alive but 

not conscious, and they took her to hospital, where the husband of 70 years as well as her children and grand-

children gathered round.  She died 24 hours later without regaining consciousness.  We used to think 

that the way my wife's mother died, asleep in her own bed, looking forward to seeing her new grandson 

the next day, was almost ideal, except that it came as a shock to her loved ones.  In that regard this 

was even 'better', since the stroke was instant and she was not in pain (they said her face would show 

it if she was), but the family had that 24 hours to gather and supoport each other, kiss her and hold her 

hand and say goodbye.  

So my prayer would be that your loved-one not be in physical pain or mental anguish - that you and the

family support him and each other, acknowledge all the love and care he has given and the wonderful 

things he has achieved over the years, and let him go gently when he is ready and has had enough, 

secure in the knowledge that he will be loved and remembered, that his influence will live on in many 

ways - that the world is a significantly better place than it would have been, had he not been born into 

it (and that yiou, especially, have had such wonderful years of love, friendship and companionship).

Please send him this blessing: 

Y'varechecha Adonai v'yishmareicha - May God bless you, and keep you

Ya'eir Adonai panav eleicha viy-khuneka - May God shine upon you and be gracious to you

Yisa Adonai panav eleicha, v'yasem l'cha shalom - May God's face be lifted up to you, and give you peace.

Finally, and consonant with what I said above, that God does not take life, and that the soul returns to 

'the shelter of God's wing', when the time comes, ask the person leading the funeral to use Rabbi Frank

Hellner's beautiful, interpretive translation:

Adonai natan vAdonai lakach, y'hi shem Adonai m'vorach - God has given, and now God has received 

back - may God's name be blessed.

Simchat Torah/Shmini Atzeret

Simcha Torah / Shmini Atzeret


The day after the seven days of Sukkot is biblically ordained as 'the eighth day of Assembly' (Shmini Atzeret).  As such it is supposed to be a major festival - a day when one abstains from work etc.

However, we are never as good at finishing things as starting them (compare how many people mark the end of Shabbat with Havdalah as start it with kiddush, or mark the last day of Pesach - also a 'main festival day', compared to having a seder).

The Talmudic Rabbis of Babylon, whose tradition was to read through the Torah in a calendar year, were able to infuse this day with a new meaning, by effectively superimposing a new festival on it - Simchat Torah - Rejoicing of the Torah.  They concluded the reading on Shmini Atzeret, and immediately rolled back the Torah and commenced from Genesis again, complete with singing and dancing.  This way, we can say 'There is no time in Jewish life without Torah'. 

Not only did they therefore create a new, post-biblical (and thus technically 'minor') festival which took precedence in people's minds over Shmini Atzeret, but they also added a source of confusion to Jewish children for all generations to come:  Why isn't the festival which has 'Torah' in its name, and when we finish and start again the cycle of reading the Torah, the Festival of Giving Torah?

That's because 'it just isn't'!  Those same Rabbis had also observed that there was a Biblically ordained (hence 'major') festival (Shavuot) without a biblically connected historical event.  It was one of the three pilgrim festivals, but whereas Pesach lasts a week and is about the Exodus from Egypt and Freedom, and Sukkot lasts a week and is about the Forty Years in the desert, and is about God's Salvation and Protection, Shavuot only lasts one day - and Torah tells us nothing about its meaning.

But they noticed that there was also a major biblical event which had not been connected to a festival - the Revelation of Torah or Matan Torah at Mount Sinai, and with a bit of jigging the dates, they could claim that this occurred on Shavuot.  Hence the Rabbis actually introduced not one but two festivals with Torah celebrations!         

CHATAN TORAH AND B'RESHIT

Anyway, one of the customs that developed was that the call up to read the final verses of the Torah in Deuteronomy (or the blessings over them, if they are then read for them), and the call up to read the very first verses of Genesis (Bereshit) were deemed to be the most important accolades in the Jewish year.  So these two pillars of the community were given the titles of Chatan Torah (Bridegroom of the Torah) and Chatan B'reshit (Bridegroom of Genesis).  Since we call up women as well as men, we call the women 'Kallat' (Bride of), hence Kallat Torah and Kallat B'reshit as suits.

Whilst these people may be great leaders in the community, they are not always able to read Torah (with no vowels, of course), but in case they wish to prepare, here is the transliteration of the final call up and the first call up: 

But here is the transliteration for 10 and 11 (and 12) if you want to prepare it all:

10: V'lo kam navi od b'Yisrael k'Moshe

asher yad-o Adonai panim el panim.

12: L'chol ha-otot v'ha-moftim

asher shal-cho Adonai 

la-asot b'Eretz Mitzrayim

l'Phar-oh u-l'chol avadav

u-l'chol arzo. 

12: U-l'chol ha-yad ha-chazaka

u-v-chol ha-moreh ha-gadol 

asher asa Moshe

l'ei-nei kol Yisrael.  

(The congregation say 'Chazak, Chazak v'nitchazek' - be strong, be strong and let us be strengthened by it)

The Torah is then rolled back (this can be done as a community activity, but take care as it is easily damaged, and needs to be rerolled tightly.  Remember that the parchment can be held top and bottom but no fingers should touch the text, simply because we don't want any grease and oils from the fingers on it).

1. B'reishit, bara Elohim 

et ha-shamayim v'et ha-aretz

2. V'ha-aretz hayta tohu va-vohu

v'chosech al p'nei t'hom

v'ruach Elohim m'ra-chefet 

al p'nei ha-mayim.

3. Vayomer Elohim 

'Y'hi or', va-y'hi or

4. Vayar Elohim et ha-or, ki tov

va-yavdel Elohim 

bein ha'or u-vein ha-choshech

5. Vayikra Elohim la-or 'Yom'

v'la-choshech kara 'Lailah'

Vay-hi erev vay-hi boker, yom echad

Why don't we single out Kohanim (priests)?

I found out an interesting fact from Jonathan Keren-Black the other day: there is no Kohanim line at the Progressive Judaism Cemetery.

I'm liking the Progressives more and more...

Just one question, why do we still have the Kohenim songs and prayers in our Siddur and Machzor?

Rabbi Jonathan responds:

With regard to a cemetery: There is an ancient belief that being in touch with the dead makes one ritually unclean.  This is why there is a tradition to wash after the funeral.  At many cemeteries you'll find special taps etc and people going to do so after the funeral.  Most Progressive Jews do not worry about such things, either being ignorant of them (as we don't teach them as an important part of Jewish life) or considering them superstition.  Common sense would suggest that they are to do with hygiene (and consequently superseded by much more effective modern health regulations) - if a person has died, it may have been from a contagious disease, and washing after any contact would have been a very good idea!). 

However, there are special restrictions for Kohanim - the priests could not do their ceremonial work (running the Tabernacle and later the First and Second Temples) if they were impure. Therefore they were not allowed to be in touch with the dead (except very close relatives like parents, unmarried sister etc).  

This has been perpetuated even to this day - so a Cohen (a male believed to be descended from the priestly family) is not allowed to come close to the dead.  Thus there will be a path or boundary beyond which they should not go at a cemetery.  In the Brown's Road Jewish cemetery chapel in Melbourne, the coffin is actually in a separate building, though visible through large matching windows in that building and the chapel.  In Kazimierz, the old Jewish part of Krakow in Poland, there is still a sign that says 'COHANIM BEWARE!!! Only the opposite sidewalk can be used for walking on this street!!! The sidewalk on this side and part of the roadway have been paved over graves'.  Similarly, El Al adjusts some flight paths to try to avoid flying over cemeteries (!), and there have been stories of Cohanim wrapping themselves in plastic to safeguard themselves (plastic is not listed in the bible as one of the many materials that 'conducts impurity'!).  

In the Progressive Jewish world, which has no wish to return to the centralisation of the Temple in Jerusalem, or the daily animal sacrifices, or the sole authority of the priesthood, we therefore have no need or interest to perpetuate the division of the Jewish people into castes: Kohanim (1st class), Levi'im (2nd class) and Yisraelim (the rest, third class)!  

So we do not ignore the fact that Kohanim are a part of the ancient Israelite past - but when the Temple was no more, they really had no specific role remaining. Since we see all Jews (and all people) as equals, we do not favour a special responsibility simply by accident of birth into a particular tribe (Levites) or family (Kohanim)- or for that matter of gender (male)! But there are many things to cherish and use, or re-use or recycle from our past, and the 'Priestly blessing 'y'varechecha' is one - May God bless you and keep you; May God enlighten you and be gracious to you; May you feel God's Presence within you, and may it bring you peace' (page 99, Mishkan T'filah, World Union Edition). There is just no reason why this beautiful blessing should be said exclusively by Kohanim, and you'll often find Rabbis using it, for example at a Baby Naming or at a Bat or Bar Mitzvah!

What is a Consulting Rabbi?

If a congregation is a constituent of the Union for Progressive Judaism, Australia, New Zealand and Asia, and they don't employ their own Rabbi, then they need to have a relationship with another member of the Rabbinic Body, the 'Moetzah', and they are called their 'Consulting Rabbi'.  They should be available to answer any status questions regarding potential members, conversions, divorce etc.

The Consulting Rabbi is expected to develop a relationship with the congregation over time by visiting at least annually to lead services and study activities etc over a weekend. This is paid for by the congregation.  The Rabbi is also available for reasonable phone/Skype and/or email conversations and support to the Chair and Executive.  

The mechanism is that the Moetzah discusses who is the consulting Rabbi where, which congregation needs one etc, when it meets six monthly.  It then makes suggestions of matches to the congregations (which may be conveyed via the UPJ or through the Movement Rabbi).

The congregational Board then decides whether that suggestion will work for them.  If so, they agree and it is a shidduch - if not, they say so, and we try to make a better match!

In other words, it is important to understand that the CR is not imposed on the congregation.

How do we support students part-way through conversion course?

Dear Rabbi,

We currently have 5 people on our conversion to Judaism programme. They have all completed an Introduction to Judaism course that was facilitated by the last Rabbi before he left. In addition, they have attended a variety of forums, are attending services and are all studying Hebrew.

We are hoping to have at least two of these candidates ready for a Beth Din when you can arrange one in around six months time. But we are needing your guidance on:

   - How we assess what knowledge the candidates have (and what their gaps are)

      

       We are doing a 'audit' of what courses they have attended, but this will not tell us what

       they have actually learned. Yours guidance and help with ways to assess their learning

       would be much appreciated (e.g. Is there an 'exam' we could give them? Would it be

       possible/ useful for you to speak to them?)

  -  Once we know what the gaps are, guidance on how best to fill these?

Rabbi Jonathan responded:

Lovely to hear from you.  

There is a process to assist you with the wonderful opportunity of welcoming people to Judaism - once the studies are completed, there are 'Take Home' Essays to write first.  These can be done from notes, books, internet etc. and partners can assist.  

1) It is easiest to send them to the student as a Word file.

2) I suggest that these are then submitted on computer and someone (your tutor?) goes through them using 'Track Changes' to make major corrections, comments etc.

3) Then send them back to the candidate for consideration.

4) Then send the revised version to the Supervising Rabbi (each person accepted for Conversion with congregations of the Union for Progressive Judaism has to be accepted by a Supervising Rabbi), or, if the Supervising Rabbi is no longer available, to the congregation's Consulting Rabbi (every congregation in the Movement must have a Rabbi or Consulting Rabbi who is a member of the Rabbinic Body, the Moetzah).

5) If the Supervising or Consulting Rabbi is happy, you should then administer the 'Closed Book' paper.  There is no pass mark and no time limit on this - it usually takes up to 2 hours.  It is done without resources (books, phones etc).  This gives the Bet Din an 'inventory' of how much the student has internalised (for obvious reasons, this document should be printed out and not circulated!)

If there are major errors or gaps, teach them.  If necessary, resit.  Then send that back to the Supervising or Consulting Rabbi.  

If they are happy with both these papers (and you report that the student can decipher and 'read' Hebrew to the best of their ability, and have been participating actively in the congregation for at least a year) then we can set a Bet Din for them.  

We have a regular Bet Din in Melbourne and in Sydney.  For one candidate, it is usually better for them to come to these.  Once there is more than one candidate for the Bet Din, it may be preferable to set up a local Bet Din (this requires 2 Rabbis or Cantors, both members of the Moetzah).  The cost is split between the candidates, the congregation/s, the UPJ and the Moetzah.  Ritual immersion and circumcision will be required as necessary following acceptance by the Bet Din, and the congregation then arranges a welcome ceremony (which may be private or public depending on the wishes of those just accepted).   

WHEN THE TORAH PORTION IS AHEAD OF THE ORTHODOX

WHY ARE WE RUNNING AHEAD?

I know we are progressive, but why have we progressed to be a full week ahead in all our Torah readings?  We read Acharei Mot on Saturday 1^st May when most other synagogues read it on 8^th May, we start the book of Numbers (and read the first portion, Bmidbar)’ on 4^th June when others are starting it on 11^th, and even on 6^th August we are reading Masei when most congregations are reading Mattot-Masei?  

The short and easy answer is that we follow the Israeli Torah readings.  The more involved explanation is that the tradition developed that outside of Israel, where Jews were uncertain of exactly whether the new moon had been sighted and thus a new month declared in Israel, would mark two first days of festivals.  If one was not correct, it must be the other.  So each festival became a day longer, the one day Shavu’ot of became two, and the seven day festivals of Pesach and Sukkot became eight days.  This also explains second night seder – it is really the first night (Seder night), but repeated on the next night in case that was really the first night!   

By two thousand years ago, astronomers (some of whom were the Rabbis themselves) were able to determine exactly when the new moon would appear and produced detailed tables years in advance.  But tradition had taken hold, and that was that!  Until the Progressive movement came along and said ‘we know when the new moon is, and we only need observe festivals as instructed in the Torah!’.

But how does this explain why we are a week ahead in our Torah readings at the moment?  Because for us the seven days of Pesach started on 22^nd April and concluded on the sunset of 29^th April, whereas the orthodox (outside of Israel) continued to celebrate Pesach until the end of Shabbat on 30^th April.  So Shabbat was not Pesach for us (and hence we returned to the regular Torah reading cycle) but it was for the orthodox (who instead read special readings for the last day of Pesach).

Actually this happens in many years, but usually only for a few weeks at a time.  But because this is a leap year in the Hebrew (as well as Gregorian) calendar, there is only one ‘doubled-up’ Torah reading, Matot-Ma’asei.  (Doubled-up readings ‘take up the slack’ in a normal year, so that there are enough Torah readings to go around even in a leap year with an extra month in it).  So from Shabbat 30^th April, all the way through to Shabbat 30^th July, we will be a week ahead – so if you want to know what happens next in the Torah story, come and hear it at LBC!

(You can get the Progressive Torah reading calendar on Google calendar by searching PROGRESSIVE JUDAISM CALENDAR WITH SHABBAT AND FESTIVALS or by using the link oi25cfvcm19vdoquc8p3abif68@group.calendar.google.com).