In 1855, a young German widow named Fanny Neuda published the first full-length book of prayers by a Jewish woman for women. Using this book and the prayers within as a backdrop, Dinah Berland discusses how prayer can restore faith and help people during their times of need.

Dinah Berland is a poet and book editor whose poems have appeared in many literary magazines and anthologies. Her recent book, “Hours of Devotion: Fanny Neuda’s Book of Prayers for Jewish Women,” a verse adaptation of the first book of Jewish prayers by a woman for women, was published by Schocken Books in 2007. Learn more about her work at http://www.dinahberland.com.

 

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The purpose of animal sacrifice can be difficult to grasp in today’s times. Podcasting from Limmud NY, Leon Morris touches on some of the more complex issues we face when dealing with this issue and suggests ways to better understand the meaning of sacrifices within Judaism today.

Rabbi Leon Morris is Executive Director of the Skirball Center for Adult Jewish Learning in New York. He received his ordination from Hebrew Union College in 1997, served as Director of New York Kollel: A Center for Adult Jewish Study at HUC-JIR, and has taught at Orthodox, Conservative, and Reform synagogues.

 

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The Golden Calf is not the problem; it was the solution and it presents us a challenge. Moses had disappeared up the thundering mountain and the molten calf soothed the Israelites’ anxiety. It worked - for a brief time. As discussed by Gerry Owen, we are often tempted to soothe ourselves with the nearest old habit. Yet choice is ours. How do we exercise it? And if we do miss the mark, how do we cleanup and prepare ourselves to meet the next temptation? Parashat Ki Tissa offers us some clues.

Seeking wisdom has guided Gerry Owen throughout his life and career. Professionally, he has studied many cultures as a college history professor (now retired). And, as a marriage, family therapist, he helps resolve conflicts, heal wounds and achieve forgiveness. Personally, he is husband, father, grandfather, speaker and wood carver. His writings, blending the science of emotional neurobiology with Torah wisdom and mystery, can be found at his website, Reflections from Above.

 

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The Torah commands: “And they shall build me a sanctuary, and I will dwell amongst them.” Hassidut asks: the Torah is eternal, what, then, is the meaning of this commandment for us in our time? Ronnie Serr discusses the response of Hassidut, that the Temple has the same structure as the human soul. The commandment to build a sanctuary is a commandment for each individual to continuously prepare their hearts and minds for the dwelling of HaShem. This sanctuary then becomes a place of purity where offerings can be made for thanksgiving, for atonement, and for the ongoing revelation of God’s presence.

Ronnie Serr learns and teaches the love of HaShem, love of Torah and love of Israel in Los Angeles. He leads a weekly study group on Song of Songs , teaches at the Academy of Jewish Religion, Los Angeles, and is a member of the Happy Minyan.

 

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Harold Walt and Abby Fifer, members of the LimmudLA 2008 conference steering committee, introduce conference presenters and participants to LimmudLA core values and ideals that can enhance the LimmudLA experience.

 

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During the revelation at Sinai, Moses alone was chosen by God to receive the Ten Commandments and to transmit them to the new Israelite nation. In this parasha, in addition to Moses, the elders of Israel are instructed to approach God and to share in the responsibility of accepting mitzvot and communicating them to the Israelites. Joshua Hoffman discusses how this represents the recognition that it will take the integration of many different perspectives to resolve inevitable conflicts and to bring peace to the community.

Joshua Hoffman is a member of the rabbinic staff at Valley Beth Shalom, a lecturer in liturgy at the American Jewish University, and Chairperson of the West Valley Rabbinic Task Force. He participates in the Synagogues: Transformation and Renewal (”STAR”) PEER program, a select national leadership program that helps early-career rabbis meet the growing needs of an ever more diverse Jewish population, a population with different expectations than previous generations, while also preserving core practices and values of Judaism.

 

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Limmud is a volunteer-led and volunteer-run organization dedicated to bringing together Jews from all walks of life, all backgrounds, all lifestyles, and all ages. Podcasting from the 2008 Limmud NY conference, Daniel Berkowitz discusses the volunteer spirit embodied by Limmud.

Daniel Berkowitz has been a yearly participant and volunteer for Limmud in the UK. More than 2,000 participants gathered in Warwick for the 28th annual Limmud conference during the last week of 2007.

 

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It is in Parshat Beshalach, after liberation from slavery and crossing through the Reed Sea, that the Israelites first expressed their faith in song. Shirat Hayam, the Song of the Sea, is one of the oldest biblical prayers and one that connects us to the moment of redemption each time we sing Mi Chamocha during prayer services. Judy Greenfeld reminds us that song is the language of the soul: with words elevated through melody, vibration, rhythm, and kinesthetic energy, singing can elevate our mood and open our hearts.

Judy Greenfeld the spiritual leader and founder of the Nachshon Minyan, a community that reaches out to the unaffiliated. She is the co-author of two books, Minding the Temple of the Soul and Entering the Temple of Dreams, and recently released the accompanying CD, When You Lie Down and When You Rise Up.

 

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Parashat Bo continues the Passover story, including detail on the last three plagues. Although each of these plagues was accompanied by darkness and desperation, it was not until the slaying of the firstborn that Pharaoh finally acknowledged that he himself was human, frail, and vulnerable. Joan Hyler discusses the significance of psychospiritual darkness in our own lives as prerequisites for liberation from the narrow places of our soul.

Joan Hyler is founder of Hyler Management, a talent and production company in Hollywood, and serves as co-chair of the Jewish Federation’s Los Angeles - Tel Aviv Partnership, which has created a highly successful program between the American and Israeli film and television communities.

 

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The narrative in Parshat Bo describes a transition for the Jewish people, presenting not ony a coda to the Egyptian exile but also the first two mitzvot of Rosh Chodesh and Pesach. Rabbi Elissa Ben-Naim discusses the significance of these mitzvot and particularly the active role that the people are required to play in the genesis of the Jewish nation.

Rabbi Elissa Ben-Naim is the Judaic Studies Director at the Brawerman Elementary School of Wilshire Boulevard Temple in Los Angeles.

 

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