Another Miracle

OK, it was a little early.  But we lit candles anyway, holding them in our hands (wax dripping) as we shared the gifts we received by our work together.   The group was TAL,  a task force dedicated to Transforming Adult Learning at Temple Emanuel. There were  eighteen diverse congregants, --- younger, older, some with kids in our schools, others with empty nests, some in their 20’s and 30’s, others in their 50’s and 60’s, some  who already study  in our adult education  classes, others who have not been inclined to participate.  We’d been guided by wonderful educators, including our own congregants Lynn Flanzbaum and Dr. Isa Aron,  our Congregational Educator Rabbi Sara Mason Barkin and our intern Beth Lieberman.  We’d met monthly since April expanding our ideas of how we learn.  We thought about the differences in Jewish and secular education, and what the goals of Jewish learning ought to be. We spent a fascinating evening exploring “limiting assumptions,” all those reasons why we “can’t” do things differently.  We discovered that in fact we can think about learning differently --- that it doesn’t have to be a class, that it doesn’t have to happen only at the synagogue. We explored new technologies and how they might enhance learning; we imagined one on one learning, including  different models of mentoring across generations. We asked about reaching out specifically to people at different stages in their lives: parents with school aged children, families around b’nai mitzvah, 20’s and 30’s, baby boomers and   older congregants. We asked where learning can take place outside the congregation, including homes, coffee houses, and board rooms. We talked about partnering with other congregations…and we looked at best practices around the county.

We imagined a future five years from now:  a cohort of 20s and 30’s (young professionals, no kids) getting together once a month at a local club or member’s homes for film screenings, dinner parties or other events that reframe what they love to do into something Jewish. We could see families with school age kids engaging in “anytime” learning…parents of b’nai mitzvah kids learning through videos we’d produce on our website how to do aliyot or explore the meaning of bar mitzvah or the prayer service as they wait for their kids in the lobby of the clergy office. We envisioned  parents and 5-7th graders engaging in a tzedakah collective, learning how to be thoughtful philanthropists, researching organizations, that they wanted to support, training these younger kids to be ready for MATCH, Temple Emanuel’ s successful high school philanthropy program. We imagine mentors or coaches that can guide fellow congregants in designing their own Jewish journeys. And we see bringing together  boomers seeking to navigate or deepen the meaning in life’s transitions sharing some of the spiritual issues around growing older.  And we embraced the idea of discovering DIY (DO IT YOURSELF) Judaism through an online “E-Manual” that offers interactive learning, holiday rituals and everything you might want to know to really “LIVE” Judaism within the context of a community that matters. In the months ahead, this group and other interested congregants will begin to make these dreams come true.

So we each held a candle, and as we placed it in the menorah we shared the gifts that each of us received through TAL. For some it was the new relationships, the excitement of making profound connections with people we hadn’t known before; for others it was learning new technical tools, like Google Docs; for still others it was the learning we did together in each of our gatherings. But for all of us, it was the feeling of making a difference in our synagogue, and helping it become a place that really makes a difference in people’s lives. One member said:  “The greatest gift is to feel that I can be a shamash, the candle that lights other candles, eventually illuminating a synagogue of living Judaism.”


A little early maybe.  But a Hanukkah miracle none the less.

Rabbi Laura Geller

Comments

[Laurie Goodman]

what a lovely ritual to mark the ending of a great committee experience! And how wonderful to see the process documented in writing!
Thanks!