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Our Congregational Retreat will be a wonderful opportunity for us to bond as a congregation. But it will also be an opportunity to pray and learn with Rabbi Ruth Adar. Rabbi Adar is a gifted teacher with a charming style and much to share. She has been an active participant in the San Francisco/Bay area Jewish scene for more than ten years. Prior to that, she served as Regional Outreach Director for the Union of Reform Judaism. She is known as the "Coffee Shop rabbi" for her willingness to meet any and all individuals looking for an inexpensive and comfortable place to study. What's more, she's an accomplished storyteller, with tales from her birthplace in Tennessee, from around the Jewish world, and from some other places she's been along the way. Join us in welcoming Ruth Adar to a comfortable place to learn and pray - with Temple Emanuel at our Congregational Retreat.
We had a chance to sit down and talk with Rabbi Adar as she gets ready for our Retreat. What on earth is a "Coffee Shop rabbi"? How many cups of coffee do you drink a day?
I call myself the Coffee Shop Rabbi because I do much of my work in coffee shops. I teach individuals and small groups who have questions about Judaism, or who want to do some Jewish study. Sometimes they are people with some Jewish heritage who do not yet feel comfortable in a synagogue. Sometimes they are Jews who want to do in-depth study on a particular subject. Sometimes they are not Jewish, but there's something they want to discuss with a rabbi. Coffee shops provide an inexpensive place to meet. After the first cup of coffee a day, I drink decaf or iced tea (no sweetening or lemon, please.) Your sessions at the retreat deal with Jewish Time. What is "Jewish Time," what's special about it, and how is it different from "regular" time?
As modern people, many of us live mostly on the secular calendar and "regular time": days begin and end at midnight, weeks have seven days, broken into "work days" and "weekend," and years have one "New Year," one "Super Bowl Weekend," and about six weeks of "the holiday season." It's not good or bad, it's just the schedule to which most in our culture are attuned.
For thousands of years, Jews have insisted on a different schedule, and a different calendar, what I call "Jewish Time." Our days begin at sundown. Our months are carefully aligned with the phases of the moon. We have multiple "New Years" during the year, which appear to move around relative to the secular calendar. Every seven days, we step out of time altogether and have Shabbat. This is inconvenient for us, because it tends not to harmonize easily with the other calendar, but we are persistent about it.
My question is, "Why?" Why insist on a concept of time so out of whack with the secular calendar? What's the benefit to us? When I looked deeply into it, I began to realize that Jewish Time offers tremendous rewards for us. In fact, it may hold the secret of Jewish survival as a people! It also offers tremendous personal benefits. I understand now why we have retained our separate calendar and concept of time, and I look forward to sharing those insights with you. What are your connections with Temple Emanuel?
I have two connections to Temple Emanuel. I was ordained in the same class with your rabbi, Rabbi Shapiro. The second is that my family are members of Temple Sinai inOakland, CA, where your past rabbi, Rabbi Straus, now serves. You've done substantial research on Judaism's approaches toward money. Tell us about them.
Money is a stressful subject: there is terrible stress if you don't have enough of it, and different kinds of stress if you have enough of it to have some choices. Jewish tradition offers wisdom towards reducing that stress, both individually and communally. Judaism does not support a particular ideology (capitalism, socialism, conservatism, liberalism, etc.) so it is helpful no matter what political opinions we hold.
I like the summary in Pirkei Avot 5:10: "There are four types of people: One who says, 'What is mine is yours, and what is yours is mine' is a fool. One who says 'What is mine is mine, and what is yours is yours' -- this is a moderate characteristic; others say that this is the character of the people of Sodom. One who says, 'What is mine is yours, and what is yours is yours' is a chassid [a holy person]. And one who says 'What is mine is mine, and what is yours is mine" is wicked.'
Jewish tradition recognizes private ownership of resources, but it also demands wisdom, fairness, and chesed [kindness] in the exercise of our power as owners of resources. It insists upon the right of the poor to sustenance and dignity. It requires that each of us recognize the consequences of our actions and take responsibility for them. Describe your ideal Shabbat.
My ideal Shabbat includes family and friends and guests, love and laughter, a good meal or two, lively study and worship, and a nice nap. What do you consider the perfect meal -- and with whom would you eat it, and where?
My perfect meal would be vegetable soup and homemade bread, fruit over ice cream for dessert. Maybe some good cheese, too. I'd eat it with my family and some friends around the table at home. What should we know about you before we meet you?
A practical thing: I am hearing-impaired and "listen" with my eyes. If I can't see your face, I may not hear you.
A true thing: I am very excited about learning with you, and hearing what you have to say.
Shavuot is not the first holiday that comes to mind when someone asks me about Jewish holidays. When I’m asked about my faith, I usually talk about Shabbat services and dinner with my family, regaling them with stories about my family’s obsession with making the utmost of the roast chicken we have every Shabbat (it’s [...]
Two new items are under consideration by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) that could reduce the number of HIV infections: Last week, a panel of experts recommended that the FDA approve a pill known as Truvada that could be taken preemptively by healthy but at-risk individuals to prevent the contraction of HIV. The pill [...]
The House and Senate must vote to pass the bipartisan DREAM Act (HR 1842/ S 952), which addresses the situation faced by young people who were brought to the United States as undocumented immigrant children and who have since grown up here, stayed in school, and have been law-abiding contributors to our communities.
