July 17, 2020 12-1

 Last Friday our discussion of Chapters 4 and 5 of Barry Holtz’s Rabbi Akiva focused on

• Akiva’s tact, modesty, and kavannah while engaging in communal prayer.   Tractate Berakhot 31a describes the intensity of  Akiva’s piety/intentionality when praying alone.  Did he, perhaps when he was leading the prayer service, shorten the prayers so as to not outstrip his peers in prayer?  Were those who composed this tractate setting up Akiva as a role model, to send a warning to others who might tend to “show-off” when they led the prayer?

• Akiva’s efforts to tactfully balance the need for ongoing continuity of tradition while also acknowledging challenges to that tradition–establishing the multivocality/legal pluralism that characterizes the Talmud.

• the ostensible concern for maintaining ritual purity and how that purity might have been permanently compromised by how the Oven of Akhnai was constructed, despite Rabbi Eliezer’s claim that the oven could be purified.

• the real concern in the debate over the oven may have been political–Eliezer championing tradition passed down through the ages (mesorah) and Rabbi Joshua and others championing intellect and innovation (hiddush).

• the significance of the majority decision against Eliezer’s rulings:  that answers to problems do not reside in miracles and statements from heaven (“lo bashamayim hi”) but in the application of human intellect in interpreting the Torah.

• the excommunication of Eliezer and the political animus that may have underpinned it, and the compassion Akiva showed toward Eliezer despite the latter’s treatment of Akiva.

At our Zoom session on July 24, we’ll consider any loose ends from Chapter 5, and then move on to a discussion of Chapter 6 (pp.130-144), “In the Orchard,” which covers another Talmudic legend that easily rivals that of the Oven of Akhnai in terms of its popularity.

Our informal discussion group will be conducted online every Friday from 12-1.   All are welcome to join us, regardless of their level of expertise or attendance at previous noon study group discussions. If you have questions, or would like the Zoom link, please contact Jay Jacoby at jbjacoby@uncc.edu.

With services unavoidably cancelled, the Ritual Committee is working hard to find ways we can support each other as a community when we can’t be together in person. It’s very distressing to be unable to say Kaddish for a loved one, or to contemplate not sharing a Seder meal with friends and family. We’d like to share with you some plans we have for filling these gaps in our lives.

Please join me beginning this Friday, March 27, at 6:00pm, when we will begin holding Kabbalat Shabbat services via Zoom.  A rotation of folks will lead the service, including Josefa, who will lead Family Shabbat on the second Friday of each month. As long as at least 10 adults log in, we’ll be able to say Kaddish, so please consider attending, even if you’re not a Friday night regular.

A link to the online service is below.  Zoom is easy to use and will let us see and hear each other as we welcome Shabbat.  If you haven’t already downloaded Zoom to your computer or phone, you must do so before joining the meeting on Friday at 6:00pm.  You only need to download Zoom once, after that you simply log in, always using the same Meeting ID: 406 391 4937.  Easy instructions are below this message.

We recognize that this is a big departure from traditional practice, and the Ritual Committee did not make this decision without serious discussion. This is a temporary measure to keep us all connected while we can’t be together physically.

If you’d like to borrow a siddur for use at home while services are cancelled, we’ll be happy to lend you one!  Please contact the office for details.

Eva Blinder

CBI Ritual Chair

Instructions for Downloading Zoom

The first time you ever use Zoom on a computer, do the following:

Go to https://zoom.us
Hover over (don’t click) “RESOURCES” on the top right and then click “Download Zoom Client” from the drop-down menu that appears
Click “Download” under “Zoom Client for Meetings”
If it asks you to allow it to download “zoom.us”, click “Allow” or “Yes”
Open the downloaded file and follow the instructions to install Zoom on your computer

The first time you ever use Zoom on a smart phone, do the following:
Go to the App Store and find “Zoom Cloud Meetings” and download it (it is free)

Instructions for attending services on CBI’s Zoom Account 1:

Right before the start of services, either go to https://zoom.us on your computer or open your Zoom app on your smartphone
Click “Join a Meeting”
Type in this Meeting ID: 406 391 4937 and click “Join”
If you’re using the computer and Zoom asks you to allow it to open “zoom.us”, click “Allow” or “Yes” or “Open” and then click “Join With Computer Audio”
If you’re using a smart phone and Zoom asks you to allow using the microphone/camera, allow it
If it says “Waiting for the host to start this meeting”, just wait a few minutes for CBI’s service leader to start the meeting

Brunch b’Yachad Join Rochelle Reich here (new link) on Friday mornings at 10:00am for some facilitated socializing followed by a discussion through a Jewish lens of a  relevant topic or current event. A joint program of CBI and the JCC.

Join Zoom Meeting
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/84701664610

Meeting ID: 847 0166 4610

Just as healthy foods nourish us through the blood stream, so Jewish meditation nourishes our “soul stream.” Meditation can be transformative, taking us from the intellectual awareness of ourselves to a deeper spiritual practice that links us to Judaism in the most profound way. Each mitzvah, holy day and cycle of life has its own rhythm, nuance, taste and character. Jewish meditation is a practice of infusing their essence into our daily spiritual lives.

Ready to give it a try? Join us via Zoom (every Sunday from 2:30pm – 4pm. No previous meditation experience necessary.  This opportunity is free and open to all. Please contact Linda Wolf at linda@networktype.com for the online meeting information.

July 17, 2020 12-1

 Last Friday our discussion of Chapters 4 and 5 of Barry Holtz’s Rabbi Akiva focused on

• Akiva’s tact, modesty, and kavannah while engaging in communal prayer.   Tractate Berakhot 31a describes the intensity of  Akiva’s piety/intentionality when praying alone.  Did he, perhaps when he was leading the prayer service, shorten the prayers so as to not outstrip his peers in prayer?  Were those who composed this tractate setting up Akiva as a role model, to send a warning to others who might tend to “show-off” when they led the prayer?

• Akiva’s efforts to tactfully balance the need for ongoing continuity of tradition while also acknowledging challenges to that tradition–establishing the multivocality/legal pluralism that characterizes the Talmud.

• the ostensible concern for maintaining ritual purity and how that purity might have been permanently compromised by how the Oven of Akhnai was constructed, despite Rabbi Eliezer’s claim that the oven could be purified.

• the real concern in the debate over the oven may have been political–Eliezer championing tradition passed down through the ages (mesorah) and Rabbi Joshua and others championing intellect and innovation (hiddush).

• the significance of the majority decision against Eliezer’s rulings:  that answers to problems do not reside in miracles and statements from heaven (“lo bashamayim hi”) but in the application of human intellect in interpreting the Torah.

• the excommunication of Eliezer and the political animus that may have underpinned it, and the compassion Akiva showed toward Eliezer despite the latter’s treatment of Akiva.

At our Zoom session on July 24, we’ll consider any loose ends from Chapter 5, and then move on to a discussion of Chapter 6 (pp.130-144), “In the Orchard,” which covers another Talmudic legend that easily rivals that of the Oven of Akhnai in terms of its popularity.

Our informal discussion group will be conducted online every Friday from 12-1.   All are welcome to join us, regardless of their level of expertise or attendance at previous noon study group discussions. If you have questions, or would like the Zoom link, please contact Jay Jacoby at jbjacoby@uncc.edu.

With services unavoidably cancelled, the Ritual Committee is working hard to find ways we can support each other as a community when we can’t be together in person. It’s very distressing to be unable to say Kaddish for a loved one, or to contemplate not sharing a Seder meal with friends and family. We’d like to share with you some plans we have for filling these gaps in our lives.

Please join me beginning this Friday, March 27, at 6:00pm, when we will begin holding Kabbalat Shabbat services via Zoom.  A rotation of folks will lead the service, including Josefa, who will lead Family Shabbat on the second Friday of each month. As long as at least 10 adults log in, we’ll be able to say Kaddish, so please consider attending, even if you’re not a Friday night regular.

A link to the online service is below.  Zoom is easy to use and will let us see and hear each other as we welcome Shabbat.  If you haven’t already downloaded Zoom to your computer or phone, you must do so before joining the meeting on Friday at 6:00pm.  You only need to download Zoom once, after that you simply log in, always using the same Meeting ID: 406 391 4937.  Easy instructions are below this message.

We recognize that this is a big departure from traditional practice, and the Ritual Committee did not make this decision without serious discussion. This is a temporary measure to keep us all connected while we can’t be together physically.

If you’d like to borrow a siddur for use at home while services are cancelled, we’ll be happy to lend you one!  Please contact the office for details.

Eva Blinder

CBI Ritual Chair

Instructions for Downloading Zoom

The first time you ever use Zoom on a computer, do the following:

Go to https://zoom.us
Hover over (don’t click) “RESOURCES” on the top right and then click “Download Zoom Client” from the drop-down menu that appears
Click “Download” under “Zoom Client for Meetings”
If it asks you to allow it to download “zoom.us”, click “Allow” or “Yes”
Open the downloaded file and follow the instructions to install Zoom on your computer

The first time you ever use Zoom on a smart phone, do the following:
Go to the App Store and find “Zoom Cloud Meetings” and download it (it is free)

Instructions for attending services on CBI’s Zoom Account 1:

Right before the start of services, either go to https://zoom.us on your computer or open your Zoom app on your smartphone
Click “Join a Meeting”
Type in this Meeting ID: 406 391 4937 and click “Join”
If you’re using the computer and Zoom asks you to allow it to open “zoom.us”, click “Allow” or “Yes” or “Open” and then click “Join With Computer Audio”
If you’re using a smart phone and Zoom asks you to allow using the microphone/camera, allow it
If it says “Waiting for the host to start this meeting”, just wait a few minutes for CBI’s service leader to start the meeting

Brunch b’Yachad Join Rochelle Reich here (new link) on Friday mornings at 10:00am for some facilitated socializing followed by a discussion through a Jewish lens of a  relevant topic or current event. A joint program of CBI and the JCC.

Join Zoom Meeting
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/84701664610

Meeting ID: 847 0166 4610