Kallah 2011 - International Biennial Convention
From December 1-4, 2011, Conservative Jews from across the continent traveled to La Jolla, California, to participate in Ka11ah, a very unconventional convention. In addition to socializing with other USCJ members from around North America, participants were treated to an intense prayer, study and food-filled weekend. The convention opened with an interdenominational discussion about prayer with Reverend Jim Wind, the president of the Alban Institute; Rabbi Steven Wernick; and Fran Gordon Immerman. On Friday, Rabbis Bradley Shavit Artson and Naomi Levy talked about God. Rabbi Ed Feld, editor of Mahzor Lev Shalem, joined us for a conversation about the language of prayer. Rabbis from the San Diego community joined us for study sessions on Friday morning, with topics ranging from Jewish music to religion and science, from Shabbat in poetry to Jerusalem. Our Shabbat afternoon study options drew from text - text about Shabbat, about marriage, about time, about interpersonal relationships.
Friday night at Ka11ah brought all participants together for Kabbalat Shabbat (led by Hazzan Joanna Selznick Dulkin) and Maariv (led by Hazzan Henry Rosenblum); the moving tefillot got participants up and dancing. Shabbat morning brought several tefillah options, from traditional lay-led to meditation; Shabbat afternoon, participants came together to discuss bringing home the various modes of tefillah they had experienced.
Hazzan Dulkin led us again in a beautiful Havdallah under the California stars. We spent Saturday night celebrating USY's 60th anniversary, highlighted by a concert by Craig Taubman. And to cap off the weekend, we saw a performance of Freedom Song - an original musical from Beit T'Shuvah, the premier Jewish residential addiction treatment facility. The performance brought the audience to its feet.
Links
mp3 Files
Thursday Evening Breakout Groups on Tefillah Task Force
Friday Morning Torah Lishma