Eboo Patel on CNN “Faces of Faith”

Watch CNN Sunday Morning this
Sunday, February 15th, when Eboo Patel will be interviewed for “Faces
of Faith” by hosts TJ Holmes and Betty Nyugen.

The interview will be broadcast live around 7:45 am CST.– set your DVR.

Rabbi Josh Zweiback Appointed Director of the Year-In-Israel Program at Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion in Jerusalem

Rabbi David Ellenson, President of Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion (HUC-JIR), has announced the appointment of Rabbi Josh Zweiback as Director of the Year-In-Israel Program at HUC-JIR in Jerusalem, effective July 1, 2009.

“The appointment of Rabbi Josh Zweiback as Director of our Year-in-Israel program inaugurates an exciting new era in rabbinical education at the College-Institute. His intellectual ability, his Jewish knowledge, his religious sensibility, his love of Israel and Hebrew, his musical talents, and his wealth of congregational and educational experience in the American rabbinate make him uniquely qualified to play a creative role in the formation of our students as they begin their quest for religious leadership in the Jewish world,” said Rabbi Ellenson and Rabbi Michael Marmur, Dean, HUC-JIR/Jerusalem.

Ordained by HUC-JIR’s New York campus in 1998 and trained as a Jewish Educator with an M.A.J.E. from the Rhea Hirsch School of Education, Rabbi Zweiback has served Congregation Beth Am in Los Altos Hills for the past ten and a half years. He began his career at Beth Am as Adult Learning Coordinator, the movement’s first full-time adult educator. He was later promoted to Senior Educator, tasked with overall responsibility for all of Beth Am’s education programs. For the past three years, Rabbi Zweiback has focused on the pulpit and pastoral components of synagogue life, sharing fully in the preaching and lifecycle load of the congregation with his Beth Am colleagues.

During his tenure at Beth Am, Rabbi Zweiback initiated numerous educational programs including Tzavta, a family b’nai mitzvah enrichment program; Hagigah, a theater based children’s education program; Hadracha, a teacher training initiative; and helped found Gan Ami, Beth Am’s early childhood education program.

Rabbi Zweiback supervised all aspects of Beth Am’s adult education program and particularly enjoyed the opportunity to teach courses in Talmud, Zionism, Jewish mysticism, Tzedakah, Modern Jewish Thought with a focus on the writings of Emanuel Levinas, and Reform Judaism. He worked with colleagues to create and implement a Lifelong Jewish Learning Map, which serves as a curriculum of Jewish studies for all ages of synagogue life. For the past five years, Rabbi Zweiback has served as a Visiting Lecturer at HUC-JIR’s Rhea Hirsch School of Education in Los Angeles, teaching a course in Adult Curriculum.

He has a passion for communal programming and initiated the Peninsula Night of Jewish Unity, which is now in its eleventh year. This event brings together over twenty Jewish institutions in the Bay Area for an evening of Jewish learning and attracts over 500 people from all of the movements of Judaism.

He has taught 7th grade Jewish Studies at the Gideon Hausner Jewish Community Day School in Palo Alto for four years. He developed an approach to teaching Pirkei Avot through song composition, which culminates each year in the debut of recordings written and performed by the students (http://www.hausner.com/avot/).

Four years ago, Rabbi Zweiback helped launch Beth Am’s Fund for the Future Endowment campaign, which just reached its goal of building a four million dollar programmatic endowment for the congregation.

“Yoshi Zweiback will bring to our Year-In-Israel Program his unique and inspiring energies as dynamic congregational rabbi, master educator, songleader/musician, and social activist. Throughout his rabbinic career, he has been a leader in the transformation and revitalization of Reform Judaism in the congregation, the classroom, and the broader Jewish communal world. This appointment marks a new era for the enhancement of our program and the impact it can have for our students and graduates. Rabbi Zweiback’s move to HUC-JIR/Jerusalem with his wife and three daughters is a significant expression of the centrality of Israel to American Reform Judaism. He will leave his mark on all our American and Israeli programs and be a wonderful and crucial addition to our staff,” said Rabbi Naamah Kelman, Associate Dean, HUC-JIR/Jerusalem, who will become Dean of the Jerusalem campus on July 1, 2009.

As an HUC-JIR student, Rabbi Zweiback founded KAVOD, a tzedakah collective dedicated to promoting human dignity (http://www.kavod.org). He continues to serve as KAVOD’s Volunteer Executive Director. KAVOD’s board includes fourteen graduates of HUC-JIR. Six years ago, in partnership with the College-Institute, KAVOD initiated a Tzedakah Fellowship program which affords HUC-JIR students the opportunity to learn how to raise and distribute tzedakah funds efficiently and effectively. Since its inception, KAVOD has distributed over $750,000 with an overhead of just $75.

Rabbi Zweiback is a musician and composer who has served as a songleader at various movement camps and in youth group settings for over twenty years. As part of Mah Tovu (http://www.mahtovu.com), he has released three albums and published two books. Mah Tovu has performed across the United States and their melodies have found their way into camps as well as synagogues.

His publications include the teacher’s guide to Shalom Ivrit II; Day of Days; and Days of Wonder, Nights of Peace: Family Prayers in Song for Morning and Bedtime, all from Behrman House Publishing. Numerous sermons have been published in The American Rabbi. He wrote a chapter in Theological Terms in the Talmud, edited by Dr. Eugene Borowitz. He has served on the editorial board of BabagaNewz Magazine since its inception in 2001.

Born in Colorado Springs, Colorado, Rabbi Zweiback was raised in Omaha, Nebraska. His father, Dr. Speedy Zweiback, and his mother of blessed memory, Hermene Zweiback, made Jewish education and Jewish community a priority for Josh and his sister and brother. He attended Princeton University, graduating magna cum laude, Phi Betta Kappa in 1991.

He is especially excited about bringing his eleven years of congregational experience as an educator, rabbi, and musician to the first-year students in Jerusalem. He also looks forward to pursuing a Ph.D. in Jewish Education.

Rabbi Zweiback is married to Jacqueline Hantgan who is a public policy advocate and organizer. in the field of stem-cell research. Jacqueline and Josh met in Jerusalem in 1992 and have long wanted to return there to live. They have three children: Isa, Ariela, and Naomi.

Join our Book Club about “The End of Poverty”

The End of Poverty discussion was interesting and thought provoking for me. The first six chapters provided a background for our conversation. I look forward to reading more from this author and the conversation to follow.
Pam DePorte

I was very pleased about the discussion about “The End Of Poverty”. I believe that Jeffrey Sachs does a wonderful job explaining his own story and his dealings with the economies of Bolivia and Poland. It is really impressive to see his true understaning of economies. I am thrilled to hear that he has been consulted in regards to our economic situation now. He is one of the few people that I would trust to resolve this crisis. I welcome everyone (readers or not) to come and join in this conversation.
Mimi Silverman

The old adage, ‘if you’re not outraged, you’re not paying attention” and I always think of something you said (in fact shared it that day) about “people do care and they do feel the pain and they do listen and say oh, how awful and they do get it – and then the switch flips and they say, hey! lets go shopping!” – it was stunning to me that only only 4 Temple people showed up. Stunning.

Learning, paying attention, showing up to events, exchanging thoughts & perspectives that you might not otherwise have considered is a good thing – loved the professor.
Adios – Ellen Platt

Temple Israel Responds: Growing Economic Downturn Hitting Omaha Area

We write to tell you that Temple Israel is responding to the impact of the economic downturn on our congregants and our larger community.

If you know of someone in our congregation whose personal circumstances have been made more difficult by the economic crisis and is in need of help, please let them know that we are prepared to be of help. We urge you to contact a member of our clergy or Dennis DePorte, in absolute privacy, about how we can help deal with your specific concerns and needs.

We also appreciate that other congregants who are not affected by the economic downturn may be wondering how they can be of assistance. We are sending a letter to every household with further information about our response and ideas for how you may be able to help.  Also watch for ideas and requests in the Temple Tidings and on our website.

Working together once again, as compassionate Jews in difficult times, we can truly be a sacred and holy community.
Rabbi Aryeh Azriel
Dennis DePorte, Executive Director
Jon Meyers, President

Community Diversity Dinners

Our very first Community Diversity Dinners were hosted in four Temple Israel homes on Saturday evening with a total of 52 participants.  As promised it was a memorable evening.

In preparation for the conversations on Saturday were asked to respond to the following questions for reflection and discussion:

1. We are all here for different reasons.  Each of us has different experiences when working with/communicating with people of different ethnicity and/or religions.  Please finish the statement, “After tonight, I …”
2. What do you think others here tonight may think about you, simply because of your race or religion?
3. Are there any barriers or difficulties that you may have that will hinder you from having a completely open and honest discussion here tonight?
4. If you’re comfortable, please share an experience in your life in which you have felt discriminated against because of your race or religion.

Thank you to our gracious hosts Deb and Doug Finnicum, Susan Rothholz, Suzanne Singer, Jane and Harlan Rips, and Jan and Les Schneiderman.

Here are some comments from some of the participants:

I just wanted you to know what a wonderful evening we had at Susan’s last night.  I think everyone really enjoyed it–Wendy and Len, 2 lovely Muslim couples, and 2 Episcopals.  It was a very successful evening–fun and interesting. –Suzanne Singer

Hi there, how was your dinner last night? We had a wonderful group and I think it was very worthwhile for all who attended. The questions worked fine as a starting point – my group was off and running – didn’t have time for “check-out” but got through everything else.

Gary and I had the very same reaction – got in the car, said how much we enjoyed the two Muslim couples (very bright, very engaging).  Anyway, thanks for working on this – hope we can do more dinners like this to gain more supporters for tri-faith. –Sally Kaplan

It was a great success. The only problem was I ate too much. The food was great, the company better. More later.
–Nancy Kirk, Executive Director Tri-Faith Initiative

Temple Israel Recognized for Outstanding, Innovative and Replicable Social Action Project

We got notification today that Temple Israel will receive an Honorable Mention Irving J. Fain Award for Outstanding Synagogue Social Action Programming presented by the Union for Reform Judaism. The Fain Awards are presented during the Consultation on Conscience, the biennial public policy conference of the Reform Jewish Movement and are among the highest honors available to congregations within the Movement. Temple Israel also received a Fain Award Honorable Mention in 1999

Kudos to the key players who continue to lead our To Do List effort: Rabbi Eric Linder, Rabbi Aryeh Azriel, Social Justice Committee members Patrick Jensen, Mimi Silverman, Gary Kaplan and Shari Hess. Each plays an invaluable role in inspiration and enzyme support in moving the project forward. Our Board of Trustees, professional and support staff contribute in the allocation of budget, communication tools, and human resources. Ultimately, the congregants and community partners prove to be the most valuable asset of God’s To Do List.

Dr. Ron Wolfson, a native Omahan, helped launched this year’s social justice initiative. His D’var Torah, entitled “God’s To Do List: How to be an Angel and Do God’s Work on Earth,” enthused and warmed the hearts of our congregation as we swayed arm in arm singing Shalom Alechem, reminding ourselves that we can partner with angels to do God’s work; God’s To Do List.

As part of the Fain Award application we were asked :

Briefly describe the overall program. How did the idea for the program develop? How does it fulfill Fain Award criteria?

God’s To-Do List is the catalyst between our theological ideals and the opportunities for action in our daily lives. Community organizing principles taught us to “hear” the voice of our congregation in order to be effective by connecting the BEING of Jewish to the DOING of social action.

God’s To-Do List is a means of engaging and teaching our congregation about social problems and Jewish values while building powerful, meaningful alliances. God’s To-Do List creatively promotes social and economic justice, fosters constructive human relations and holistically infuses social action into the life of our congregation.

The idea transformed through our six months of planning and preparation. At its inception, our vision was to challenge people to match the spiritual and theological messages of the High Holidays with social action. This idea eventually turned into God’s To-Do List.

Here is a full length copy our application and our To Do List Toolkit.

The Fain Awards were established in 1983 in the honor and memory of Irving J. Fain, who was a passionate proponent of social justice and of the Reform Movement’s active commitment to the work of tikkun olam. Mr. Fain served for a decade as chairperson of the Commission on Social Action of Reform Judaism. This award is given every two years to congregations whose work in the area of social justice is exemplary, have successfully involved large numbers of congregants in their programs and have developed genuinely innovative and/or particularly effective projects.

The awards will be presented by some of the Reform Movement’s most honored leaders, including Rabbi Eric Yoffie, Rabbi David Saperstein, executive director of the Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism, and Rabbi Marla Feldman, director of the Commission on Social Action of Reform Judaism. As recipients of the Fain Award at the Consultation on Conscience, these congregations will be held up as an example of how an individual congregation can be successful in the sacred work of tikkun olam, healing the world. The award winning programs will be distributed widely in a booklet highlighting this year’s Fain Award recipients. These exemplary programs are also available on the Religious Action Center’s online program bank, at www.rac.org.

Purple States of America

Magda Peck, Omaha, Nebraska, January 21, 2009

David Anderson Inauguration 2009

David Anderson and Magda Peck Jan. 20, 2009

When I learned a few weeks ago from Senator Ben Nelson’s office that we had been allotted two coveted tickets, I could see it so clearly: standing near the base of the Capitol Steps on a cold sunny day, surrounded by throngs of passionate people of all hues and hometowns crowded together at high noon.. Our son David, a freshman in Political Science at American University, would be at my side as we heard Barak Obama, our President, articulate his vision for a new America in his compelling, stentorian voice.

In the end, that is just what happened, almost.

Participating on the front lines of history is messy, hard work. After a five mile trek from the AU campus, we joined hundreds and hundreds of Purple ticket holders already on line just before 8. We had been instructed to wait in a damp underground tunnel beneath the Mall before going through security at our designated gate at 1^st and Louisiana, two blocks away. The line barely inched along, and no one seemed to know what was holding us up. By 11 am we finally reached the tunnel’s entrance when news quickly spread through the weary crowd that the Purple Gate had been closed due to overwhelming crowds and a possible security breach. We would not be admitted to see the Inauguration.

David simply refused to believe that we wouldn’t get in, that we would be locked out of history. Many folks walked off in anger, but we pressed on snuggling into a persistent throng of still hopeful folks. Waving our Purple tickets, we chanted “Open the gates! Open the gates!” A middle aged African American woman standing next to us would not be denied this moment. She pressed the wheelchair bearing her bundled up 90 year old mother forward stating firmly “We’re Purple and we’re coming through.” The crowd parted to make way, then followed her lead. They re-opened the Purple Gate just before noon. Once past security, we dashed forward to see anything, catching the tell-tale words, “…so help me God.” Cannons fired, and two million and two people roared for change.

Peel away the over-packed Metro, many miles of walking, damp and bitter winds, utterly complicated logistics, and a near miss to the main moment, and it all came down to one thing: bearing witness to history. Being there etched an old life lesson first hand. Yes, we still have Red states and Blue states, Democrats and Republicans, conservatives and progressives and folks still not engaged. We will always have difference – Black and White, Christian, Muslim and Jew. Yet in the messiest of moments of unfathomable importance, our duty is to become purple citizens of change, demanding our place and part for democracy in action.

I remember standing next to my parents at the base of the Lincoln Memorial on a hot ‘60s August day at the Poor People’s March on Washington. I remember feeling the shimmer of his wondrous words, how his message infused me with hope. Sure enough, just in time forty five years later it came full circle. At the other end of the Mall by the steps of the Capitol, under cold blue skies, David was at my side. Blocking the wind from my back, he leaned in for warmth, and rested his chin on my head. And we listened, together, to the newest leader’s fine firm words for a new day.

War will not rend interfaith project

Omaha World-Herald 01/14/2009, Page B07

MIDLANDS VOICES
War will not rend interfaith project

BY RABBI ARYEH AZRIEL, WENDY GOLDBERG, NASER Z. ALSHARIF AND THE REV. CANON TIM ANDERSON The writers, all of Omaha, are board members of the Tri-Faith Initiative. Azriel and Goldberg are senior rabbi and program director, respectively, of Temple Israel. Alsharif is secretary of the American Institute of Islamic Studies and Culture. Anderson is canon for development of the Episcopal Diocese of Nebraska. Margaret Mead said, “Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed people can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.” In 2006, a group of Omaha leaders made a bold decision to form a partnership with the goal of co-locating to an interfaith campus. Temple Israel, the Episcopal Diocese of Nebraska and the American Institute of Islamic Studies and Culture signed a mutual agreement of understanding to create the Tri-Faith Initiative of Omaha. We remain committed to this goal. Our dialogue actually began nine years ago. From its inception, we knew the day would arrive that would require us to gather at a table in the midst of war in the Middle East. How would we continue building our friendships of mutual understanding? It took place at a meeting involving the emotional sharing of personal narratives of three leaders of the Tri-Faith Initiative — an Israeli-born Reform Jewish American rabbi; an American Muslim professor born in Palestine; and a native Nebraskan Episcopal priest. The tearful conversation was the kind of honest exchange that is necessary to reach peace. The initiative, one said, “gives us all strength to have each other and to each respect our individual relationships with God. To understand and to know each other will move us forward.” Another added: “The pain is so great. What is really at stake in our Holy Land? We are suffering. Who is scoring political points? Is this about geopolit ical struggle? What is the value of every human life? All people are victims. The violence must stop. The violence will not bring safety. “This ongoing war has decimated my entire family. I no longer have a family. Just tears. There is no monopoly on pain. We all have people being killed. Will we strive for justice and peace among all people and respect the dignity of every human being? Our response is, ‘We will, with God’s help.’ ” Our stories are woven together with threads of pain and love for our people and the land. We shared stories of loss of friends and family. We acknowledged our mutual regard for human life, especially those who have died as a result of the ongoing struggle. We heard each other’s memories of war — pain and fear, dreams for the Holy Land. We cried. We hugged. Our years of conversation and education had clear rewards as we witnessed and felt the pain of the others. The participants said, “We stand together in condemnation of the violence, pain and suffering. We hope for peace and coexistence in the Holy Land. We understand that politics alone will not end this conflict.” The Holy Land is more than borders and settlements. The tragedies reach beyond Gaza; our message must be a global one. In Omaha, we are privileged by our influence and freedoms. Yet we feel guilty; our selfishness and greed have desensitized us. Are we assuming our responsibilities? Today we, the leadership of the Tri-Faith Initiative, call upon ourselves to honestly reawaken our consciences, including progressive change to build relationships, to honor a nd respect the other. We raise our voices to work toward peace. Recognizing the challenges ahead requires hope, faith and a commitment to work hard, together, to solve the many problems of our generation. TriFaith gives us hope — hope for the future in the midst of despair. Despite the strong feelings roused around our table by the crisis in Gaza, the initiative continues to move forward and remains committed to its first public event, “Dinner in Abraham’s Tent: Conversations on Peace,” featuring the national leaders of each of our movements: Rabbi Peter Knobel, Dr. Ingrid Mattson and Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori of the U.S. Episcopal Church. The event, set for Friday, March 27, at the Qwest Center, will feature a worship service followed by a dinner and a conversation among the faith leaders on the theme of “Shalom, Salaam, Peace.” In the words of Rabbi Jonathan Magonet, “May our courage match our convictions and our integrity match our hope.” How can we still attempt the Tri-Faith Initiative when there is a war going on in the Middle East? How can we not? For more information about The Tri-Faith Initiative contact 402-934-2955 or 888- 934-9955 (toll free), or info@trifaith.org.

Where are we getting our information about Israel?

From Jane Rips’ inbox
Blog for Israel
Reform Movement Blog

Stacey Rockman read and watched
Rabbi Hier’s Op-Ed in Today’s Wall Street Journal

Michael Blumberg on CNN

Sally Kaplan is reading
Shalom, Shabbat, & Shibboleth

Katherine Finnegan is reading
Haaretz
HonestReporting.com
Daily Alert

Rabbi Azriel’s inbox includes
Israel’s Progressive Movement Provides Emergency Assistance During Gaza Operation
Subscribe to the Israel Religious Action Center e-Newsletters

Maya Wertheimer suggests
Take Action Now! Support Israel’s Right to Defend Its Citizens

Wendy Goldberg checked out
US Jews, Muslims Need New Playbook
Proposal to the President-Elect for the First 100 Days: On the Arab-Israeli Dispute and and the Crisis in Gaza

Ben Nelson on MSNBC about Israel

From extended family in Israel

This is from Jordana Glazer’s Cousin in Israel

I hope you’re not answering this mail to be polite. I do feel that when I send you these e mails that I am sharing my feelings, fears and frustrations with you. You probably understood that  by now. So take it as my alarm system contacting you. I just had nothing to ‘really’ say. You don’t have to answer.

And at times like these when half the country live in shelters for days on end, and my son is now in the army, the economy is my last, last and least priority.

Worst is, that whatever the outcome may be ‘they’ will not go away and we still have the other maniacs up north. Our problems will not be solved yet.

I always knew that when hell breaks loose here, we could run. But now we can’t. Ari is in the army and he is on his own – legally – but not in my book. I fall asleep at night designing an escape plan, to fly out with all the kids…..this is a real nightmare, for all of us here, North and South, all over Israel. The feeling of unity is very high among Israeli’s and it’s the most pulsating feeling. We all know –except for a small number of delusional left – that this is once again, a war of survival. All these soldiers are my kin, and I feel for all of them, what hell they are going through. I don’t know if any American can understand this. It is the unique characteristic of Israeli life. People are quiet, everything slows down as if functioning in slow motion. You can see it on everyone’s face. The worrying, the automatic movements, and the fear. I listen to the radio and television all day, I pray, I pray and pray (Tehilim כ’) for this to stop and I pray for the young men fighting for our country.

Maybe, just maybe, I can’t take this pressure.

I do have a small request. Don’t be indifferent. Look up Hamas on Wikipedia, hard to comprehend that they are considered human beings. Spread the word of who these people are, write on blogs supporting us, write on blogs throughout the world. Write to the TV stations and newspapers that report bias misconceptions. Write to your congress rep. If there is a Israel support rally; go to it, be another statistic in the count for support. Many countries have displayed their support for us and a few arab countries have implied their support (Egypt).

It’s at times like this that Jews around the world have to wake up and help, each in their own way. You cannot preach the liberal approach; democracy and peace agreements are not among these maniac’s agenda. It’s not even an issue of land for peace, and not a two state solution. They want annihilation, destruction, and death to all Jews, and then to all that are not muslim all over the world. That’s their goal. That is their principleof existence. It’s a matter of time how the Us and Europe will continue to deal with this, on 9/11 you had a taste.