RabbicreditorChukat 5769/2009: "Seeing Beyond the Apparent"
Submitted by Rabbi Menachem Creditor [Berkeley, CA] on Thu, Jul 2, 2009
Rabbi Menachem Creditor is rabbi of Congregation Netivot Shalom in Berkeley, CA. He is also founder of ShefaNetwork: (The Conservative Movement Dreaming from Within), co-founder of KeshetRabbis (The Alliance of Gay-Friendly Conservative and Masorti Rabbis), and author of TheTisch, an electronic commentary on Jewish Spirituality. He is a popular speaker at synagogues, college campuses, and various communities on questions of Jewish Identity, Leadership, and Spirituality. As one half of Shirav, a Jewish folk-music group, he has spread passion, comfort, and joy to audiences around North America and Israel.
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Korach 5769/2009: "Korach's Children"
Submitted by Rabbi Menachem Creditor [Berkeley, CA] on Wed, Jul 1, 2009
Celebrating the 50th wedding anniversary of Sheila and Art Braufman
Rabbi Menachem Creditor is rabbi of Congregation Netivot Shalom in Berkeley, CA. He is also founder of ShefaNetwork: (The Conservative Movement Dreaming from Within), co-founder of KeshetRabbis (The Alliance of Gay-Friendly Conservative and Masorti Rabbis), and author of TheTisch, an electronic commentary on Jewish Spirituality. He is a popular speaker at synagogues, college campuses, and various communities on questions of Jewish Identity, Leadership, and Spirituality. As one half of Shirav, a Jewish folk-music group, he has spread passion, comfort, and joy to audiences around North America and Israel.
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Naso 5769/2009: “Personal Status and Jewish Leadership”
Submitted by Rabbi Menachem Creditor [Berkeley, CA] on Fri, Jun 5, 2009
Dedicated to Jon Galinson ***************************** Given the enormous length of Parashat Naso, there are so many possible directions for exploration that it’s hard to choose just one! Naso is the longest Torah Portion, with 176 verses. (Interesting to note that the longest chapter in the entire Hebrew Bible (Psalm 119) has 176 verses, and the longest tractate of the Talmud (Bava Batra) has 176 pages!) read more »
Rabbi Menachem Creditor is rabbi of Congregation Netivot Shalom in Berkeley, CA. He is also founder of ShefaNetwork: (The Conservative Movement Dreaming from Within), co-founder of KeshetRabbis (The Alliance of Gay-Friendly Conservative and Masorti Rabbis), and author of TheTisch, an electronic commentary on Jewish Spirituality. He is a popular speaker at synagogues, college campuses, and various communities on questions of Jewish Identity, Leadership, and Spirituality. As one half of Shirav, a Jewish folk-music group, he has spread passion, comfort, and joy to audiences around North America and Israel.
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The Power of a Jewish Voice
Submitted by Rabbi Menachem Creditor [Berkeley, CA] on Thu, May 21, 2009
Nicholas Patruno has written that: "[During the Sho'ah, the Nazis' attempts at] the suppression of language served as a cruel reminder that there would be no voice left to tell. ...But in Auschwitz, Primo Levi soon concluded that his survival, in physical and moral terms, depended largely on his ability to oppose this Nazi scheme. ...Levi later wrote that 'one can and must communicate, and thereby contribute in a useful way to the peace of others and one's self.' (Memory and Mastery, p.92)" read more »
Rabbi Menachem Creditor is rabbi of Congregation Netivot Shalom in Berkeley, CA. He is also founder of ShefaNetwork: (The Conservative Movement Dreaming from Within), co-founder of KeshetRabbis (The Alliance of Gay-Friendly Conservative and Masorti Rabbis), and author of TheTisch, an electronic commentary on Jewish Spirituality. He is a popular speaker at synagogues, college campuses, and various communities on questions of Jewish Identity, Leadership, and Spirituality. As one half of Shirav, a Jewish folk-music group, he has spread passion, comfort, and joy to audiences around North America and Israel.
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Intense and Holy
Submitted by Rabbi Menachem Creditor [Berkeley, CA] on Sun, May 3, 2009
It is precisely in the intense moments of disagreement that love is tested. Parashat Acharei Mot begins amidst the immediate aftermath of the deaths of Nadav and Avihu, who brought uninvited incense-offerings upon the dedication of the Tabernacle and were themselves devoured by a "fire from God" (Lev. 10:2). With barely a blink, Aaron is now commanded to prepare for the Yom Kippur ritual (Lev. 16), including an incense offering, similar to (and in the exact location of) his son's deaths. read more »
Rabbi Menachem Creditor is rabbi of Congregation Netivot Shalom in Berkeley, CA. He is also founder of ShefaNetwork: (The Conservative Movement Dreaming from Within), co-founder of KeshetRabbis (The Alliance of Gay-Friendly Conservative and Masorti Rabbis), and author of TheTisch, an electronic commentary on Jewish Spirituality. He is a popular speaker at synagogues, college campuses, and various communities on questions of Jewish Identity, Leadership, and Spirituality. As one half of Shirav, a Jewish folk-music group, he has spread passion, comfort, and joy to audiences around North America and Israel.
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A Pesach Poem: "Thank You, God, for Chametz"
Submitted by Rabbi Menachem Creditor [Berkeley, CA] on Wed, Apr 8, 2009
When I slither on my belly with my children, When I stand with my family, When I recite the Aramaic formula "I did my best, and that is good enough.
Rabbi Menachem Creditor is rabbi of Congregation Netivot Shalom in Berkeley, CA. He is also founder of ShefaNetwork: (The Conservative Movement Dreaming from Within), co-founder of KeshetRabbis (The Alliance of Gay-Friendly Conservative and Masorti Rabbis), and author of TheTisch, an electronic commentary on Jewish Spirituality. He is a popular speaker at synagogues, college campuses, and various communities on questions of Jewish Identity, Leadership, and Spirituality. As one half of Shirav, a Jewish folk-music group, he has spread passion, comfort, and joy to audiences around North America and Israel.
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Dynamic Connections: The Theology of the Runaway Bunny
Submitted by Rabbi Menachem Creditor [Berkeley, CA] on Fri, Mar 27, 2009
The children's classic "The Runaway Bunny", written by Margaret Wise Brown and illustrated by Clement Hurd, might seem an odd place to begin a theological reflection. read more »
Rabbi Menachem Creditor is rabbi of Congregation Netivot Shalom in Berkeley, CA. He is also founder of ShefaNetwork: (The Conservative Movement Dreaming from Within), co-founder of KeshetRabbis (The Alliance of Gay-Friendly Conservative and Masorti Rabbis), and author of TheTisch, an electronic commentary on Jewish Spirituality. He is a popular speaker at synagogues, college campuses, and various communities on questions of Jewish Identity, Leadership, and Spirituality. As one half of Shirav, a Jewish folk-music group, he has spread passion, comfort, and joy to audiences around North America and Israel.
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Yitro 5769/2009: "Exodus and Relational Authority"
Submitted by Rabbi Menachem Creditor [Berkeley, CA] on Mon, Feb 9, 2009
It is striking to note the number of times God, during the first few Torah portions of Exodus, concludes and justifies a command with the words "Ani Adonai / I am God." Having God acknowledged by Egypt (see Ex. 7:5, 14:4,18) and by the Israelites (see Ex. 6:7, 10:2) seems exceedingly important, perhaps as the very goal of our entire redemption. In our Parasha the very first of the Ten Commandments is a reassertion of the very same notion: "I, Adonai, am your God who brought you out of the land of Egypt, the house of bondage. (Ex. 20:2)" read more »
Rabbi Menachem Creditor is rabbi of Congregation Netivot Shalom in Berkeley, CA. He is also founder of ShefaNetwork: (The Conservative Movement Dreaming from Within), co-founder of KeshetRabbis (The Alliance of Gay-Friendly Conservative and Masorti Rabbis), and author of TheTisch, an electronic commentary on Jewish Spirituality. He is a popular speaker at synagogues, college campuses, and various communities on questions of Jewish Identity, Leadership, and Spirituality. As one half of Shirav, a Jewish folk-music group, he has spread passion, comfort, and joy to audiences around North America and Israel.
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VaYigash 5769: "The Possible Blessing of Encounter"
Submitted by Rabbi Menachem Creditor [Berkeley, CA] on Mon, Jan 5, 2009
I've been spending some time with Martin Buber recently, preparing for a public conversation with my friend Josh Kornbluth, as part of his monologue at the Contemporary Jewish Museum entitled "Andy Warhol: Good for the Jews?" Buber is one of 10 Jewish portraits in museum's exhibit, and is himself an intriguing character in the worlds of philosophy, Zionism, and human interaction. His general approach is articulated well in this quote, taken from Aubrey Hodes' "Martin Buber: An Intimate Portrait": read more »
Rabbi Menachem Creditor is rabbi of Congregation Netivot Shalom in Berkeley, CA. He is also founder of ShefaNetwork: (The Conservative Movement Dreaming from Within), co-founder of KeshetRabbis (The Alliance of Gay-Friendly Conservative and Masorti Rabbis), and author of TheTisch, an electronic commentary on Jewish Spirituality. He is a popular speaker at synagogues, college campuses, and various communities on questions of Jewish Identity, Leadership, and Spirituality. As one half of Shirav, a Jewish folk-music group, he has spread passion, comfort, and joy to audiences around North America and Israel.
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Jewish Elasticity and Values
Submitted by Rabbi Menachem Creditor [Berkeley, CA] on Sun, Dec 21, 2008
Elasticity describes a ratio of change, a useful tool whose work is independent of units. To measure a ratio of change is to come to terms with the specific language and factors in any given situation before stating an observation. It is a brave thing to step into this world of elasticity, where things remain dimensionless until described, and even the eventual description can (and likely will) ultimately prove outdated, given the way systems naturally change. read more »
Rabbi Menachem Creditor is rabbi of Congregation Netivot Shalom in Berkeley, CA. He is also founder of ShefaNetwork: (The Conservative Movement Dreaming from Within), co-founder of KeshetRabbis (The Alliance of Gay-Friendly Conservative and Masorti Rabbis), and author of TheTisch, an electronic commentary on Jewish Spirituality. He is a popular speaker at synagogues, college campuses, and various communities on questions of Jewish Identity, Leadership, and Spirituality. As one half of Shirav, a Jewish folk-music group, he has spread passion, comfort, and joy to audiences around North America and Israel.
My Tools
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