Derekh Eretz: Walking Together Amidst Differences
Thriving Jewish communities are those in which lay leaders and the professional staff walk together on a path of respect and decency. We call this Derekh Eretz, literally the way we walk the land. This phrase implies that when we work together, pray together, heal the world together, and engage in spiritual living together, we do so as a Kehilah Kedoshah, a holy community. When we treat each other with respect and decency, when we seek to understand another’s perspective, we uphold the value that we are all created B’tzelem Elohim, in God’s image. Our sacred duty as leaders is to work together to model Derekh Eretz so that these values permeate our communities.
Feelings of helplessness, fear, and grief continue to pile up alongside ongoing violence in Israel and the political turmoil at home. The issues that have arisen in Israel and the US have divided our communities and made it difficult for people to manage their own emotions and to engage with each other. In this age of polarization, echo chambers, and hot-button issues, it seems as if we have forgotten how to talk with one another, how to listen to others’ viewpoints, how to respectfully disagree, or participate in civil discourse with people who disagree with us. We would like to provide the opportunity for the USCJ community to engage with their head and hearts through self-reflection and debate.
Cosponsored by the Rabbinical Assembly
*Click on the titles to register*
Creativity for Times of Challenge and Change
(February 11th, March 11th, May 13th, June 17th – All sessions are at 12pm EST)
Presented by Rabbi Adina Allen and Rabbi Adam Lavitt of Jewish Studio Project
This program explores human emotion through the sacred words of Psalms and the creative process. Combining the words of Psalms, texts that speak to and can hold every human emotion and the power of creative process to regulate our nervous systems, to sit with our questions, to connect to our hearts and to guide our actions allows our communities and organizations throughout the Jewish ecosystem, to be with each other across difference, across space and time, and through all the emotions that have arisen.
For the Sake of Heaven
Thursdays: February 27, March 27, May 29, June 26 – All sessions are at 8 pm ET
Presented by Simon Klarfeld of Beyond Strategy
This program explores historical and contemporary Jewish disputes to understand what it means for an argument to be constructive and how we ourselves can and should engage in debate in a mensch-y way. Each session will provide us with an opportunity to learn and practice a particular skill or methodology so that we are best prepared to have meaningful debate in the spirit of those Jewish ideals. While each session is self-standing, it is highly recommended that you participate in the first session as it will provide a framework for understanding Jewish disputes useful to each subsequent session.
Session 1: For the Sake of Heaven: Fundamentals of Jewish Debate
Session 2: What is Beyond the Pale? Excommunication and other boundaries
Session 3: Beyond Words: When is it OK to use other means of Persuasion?
Session 4: Zionism vs. Anti-Zionism – A very Jewish 19th Century Debate
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