xt73r20rv82v https://exploreuk.uky.edu/dips/xt73r20rv82v/data/mets.xml Jewish Federation of the Bluegrass Kentucky Jewish Federation of the Bluegrass 2013-09 Newspaper of the Jewish Federation of the Bluegrass, previously named the Central Kentucky Jewish Association and Central Kentucky Jewish Federation. Published ten times annually. The Federation seeks to bring Jewish community members together through holiday parties, lectures, Yiddish courses, meals, and other celebrations of Jewish heritage and culture. They also host fundraisers and provide financial assistance for Jews in need, both locally and around the world. This collection is part of the Jewish Federation of the Bluegrass records, 2016ms010. newsletters 2016ms010 English Jewish Federation of the Bluegrass Inc.  Contact the Special Collections Research Center for information regarding rights and use of this collection. Jewish Federation of the Bluegrass records Jews -- Kentucky -- Lexington Jews -- History Shalom, September 2013 text image Shalom, September 2013 2013 2013-09 2025 true xt73r20rv82v section xt73r20rv82v 7; :7,

3,44.

September 2013

Kids go Ga-ga for Camp’s
45th summer!

Camp Shalom recently finished its 45th
summer season. Our two week day
camp saw tons of smiles, giggles, new
games, and many fun learning mo-
ments. We were blessed with fairly mild
weather and another year on the beauti-
ful Camp Shawano site, owned by the
Girl Scouts of Kentucky’s Wilderness
Road Council.

Some of our new activities this year
included badminton, a computer build
chug (elective), increased time with
archery for our older campers, and a
giant make-shift slip and slide that we
borrowed from the Girls Scouts. We
even bussed our extended day camp-

ers tv’viee"weeldytota~tecal public pool.
Our Chalutzirn, Gesher, and Habonim
campers had the opportunity to use the
climbing wall, and our youngest camp-
ers had many special visitors from our
community who read stories and made
yummy treats in the kitchen with them.

With the purchase of our new pit, the
kids also discovered just how gaga they
are for Ga-gal For those unfamiliar with
the game, Ga-ga is a wildly popular
individual sport which came to the US.
via the Jewish camping movement from
Israel and has grown into a common
addition to sleep away and day camps
alike throughout North America. The

see Kids go Ga-ga, page 11

 

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Newspaper of

OF THE BLUEGRASS

 

TISHRI 5774

New TAI Youth Education
Director Announced

It is our pleasure to announce the hiring
of Susan Magill as Youth Education
Director. Susie and her husband, Tim,
moved to Lexington from Arizona in
October 2012, and have been members
of TAI since their arrival.

Susie has extensive education and
experience working with children and
their families, as well as administra-
tive and training skills. Her many years
of professional experience include the
positions of Special Education Teacher,
Director of a Learning Center, As-
sociate Camp Director, and Religious

School Teacher. Susie brings a wealth of
experience developing and implement-
ing various educational programs. She
holds a BA in Psychology and a Mas-
ters in Special Education. She has great
enthusiasm and passion for educating
children.

Please join us in welcoming Susie to
the position of Youth Education Direc-
tor. We know she is looking forward to
meeting all the congregants and work-
ing with our staff and children.

- The TA] Youth Education Committee in

-- [AMMGNNEWS , _
Jewish Family Services Needs

Your Help

One of the most compelling reasons to
give to the Jewish Federation’s annual
campaign is to support the programs
provided by our Jewish Family Ser-
vices. We are fortunate to have an
experienced, wonderful social worker,
Mimi Kaufman, as JFS director and

an equally wonderful JFS Commit-
tee chair, Connie Loventhal. We have
more than full caseload of members
of our community who need support
in a variety of ways. Quite a few are
aging and trying to stay in their own
homes, but they have no family nearby.
We provide them with counseling,
socialization programs, and referrals
to agencies that offer home health

and other services. We also serve our
elderly in nursing homes and assisted
living facilities. Our caseload includes

individuals and families experiencing
health and economic hardships. We
have worked with families confronting
drug and alcohol addiction, incarcera-
tion, etc. JFS also offers Jewish Family
Life Education programs that help
families learn about issues facing them
such as intermarriage, adoption, child
rearing, concerns about death and dy—
ing, etc.

Before the economic downturn of 2008,
our campaign was able to support a
full time JFS director. Since that time,
with a reduced campaign, we have had
to cut the position to half time. Please
help us get back to where we need to
be by giving generously to the 2013
campaign. Our community depends
on your heartfelt contributions. 3::

 

  

IN THIS ISSUE

President’s Message ................................................................................... 3
Editorial .................. 3
JFS: At Your Service .................................................................................... 4
PJ Library ........................................................................................................ 5
HUC-JIR Presidential News ...................................................................... 6
Green Team News ....................................................................................... 6
My Mundane Existence is an Apple to Your Orange ...................... 7
I Keep a Rock ................................................................................................ 8
Ask A Rabbi ................................................................................................... 9
Keepers Of The Gate Make A Difference 365 Days A Year .......... 10
B'tayavon ..................................................................................................... 16
The Lexington Chapter of Hadassah .................................................. 16
B’nai Brith ..................................................................................................... 17
Ohavay Zion Synagogue ........................................................................ 18
Temple Adath lsrael ................................................................................. 19
The Lexington Havurah .......................................................................... 21
Around the Community ......................................................................... 22

 

Shalom

Published ten times per year by the Jewish Federation of the Bluegrass, Inc.
1050 Chinoe Rd., Suite 1 12, Lexington, KY 40502
Phone (859) 268-0672 - Fax (859) 268-0775
email: shalom@jewishlexington.org

SEPTEMBER 201 3, VOLUME X, ISSUE 7
Michael Grossman, President
Judy Wortman, Executive Director
Tamara Ohayon, Marketing and Outreach Director
Mimi Kaufman, JFS Director
Lori Bernard, Coordinator of informal Jewish Education
Kathie Kroot, Administrator

SHALOM EDITORIAL BOARD
David A. Wortman, Editor-in-Chief
Hanna Smith, Chairperson
Jane Chaput, Susan Cobin, Betty Nigoff

CONTRIBUTING WRITER
Lisa Miller

LOCAL DISTRIBUTION SERVICES
Lowell and Betty Nigoff

Production Services by Georgetown News-Graphic

The editorial staff has the right to edit all articles submitted for publication in Shalom. Articles should not ex-
ceed 500 words. The appearance of any advertising In this publication does not represent either a kashruth
or any other endorsement on the part of the Federation or any other agency or organizations.

Opinions expressed in Shalom are not necessarily those of the Shalom editorial staff or the JFB or its con-
stituent organizations.

Shalom is partially supported by the advertisements appearing in the paper.

Copyright 0 2013, Jewish Federation of the Bluegrass. All r' hts reserved. For reprint permission contact
David Wortman, Editor-in—Chief, Shalom, at shalom@jewlsh exingtonorg

2 | September 2013 Shalom

 

The P] Library is a national program offered

  

locally, which mails free, high-quality and
age appropriate Jewish children’s literature

and music to families on a monthly basis.

All families raising Iewish children ages six months to eight years are welcome to enroll. [PB is proud
to offer your family, through our partnership with local donors and the Harold Grinspoon Foundation,

this opportunity to explore the timeless core values ofludaism through books and music.

Email your children in __,;i and whiten imiav! Call us at 859.268.0672 or
visit www.pjlibrary.com and visit our Lexington community page.

 

 

 

 
  
   
    
      

 

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All\ 'I‘Injlmxixli Federation
‘wfl o:

“E BLUEGRASS Board Members

Jane Chaput Angie Ornstein
Executive Committee Susan Cobin Jenny Rice

Gail Cohen Kae Schennberg
Michael Grossman, President Jenn Garlin Pat Shraberg
Evalyn Block, Vice President David Feinberg Marty Solomon
Hanna Smith, Secretary Mickey Hernandez Paul Tillier
Gary Yarus, Treasurer Larry Kant Elissa WeinStEin
Bob Grossman, At-Large Minna Katz-Brown Judy Woreil
Seth Salomon, At—Large Amy Faust Mayer

 

Shalom Deadline

Deadline for articles for the October Shalom is September 1 0.
Email articles to shalom@jewishiexington.org

 President’s Message

Michael Grossman, President

 

Late last year it hit me that 2013 would
mark 50 years since I became a bar
mitzvah. There is something about the
”big 50” of anything that seems to reso-
nate with people, and I’m no exception.
I decided that as a way of reconnecting
with my religious self, I would once
again study and learn the haftarah por-
tion which I recited at Temple Beth Am
in Los Angeles in 1963. Sounded like

a great idea last December, but as the
calendar marched on toward

the appointed date, some

of the fears and anxiet-

ies that I’m sure I
felt the first time
around came
back. But, over
the course of a
lifetime I, like

all of you,

have been
confronted

with difficult
‘tl\l\\ and.

in the end.

I took much
enjoyment

from overcom-
ing such chal-
lenges. Returning
to the text I initially

struggled to learn was,

for me, a resonant way to
mark 50 years since becoming
a bar mitzvah.

We find many ways to connect to and
reconnect with our Jewish identity.

For many that is through our religious
organizations. We are blessed in
Central Kentucky to have wonderful
rabbis leading our congregations, not
only with their inspiring services but
with classes, lectures, and workshops
on topics related to Judaism and Jew-
ish life. For others it is through one or
more of the many programs sponsored
by our Federation such as Yiddish
classes, Lunch ’n Learns with our rab-
bis, Leisure Club, Tikkun Lexington
Volunteer Corps, to name a few, as well
as the abundant and rich programs
sponsored by our religious congrega-

   
 

tions and
Jewish orga-
nizations.

We connect
when we
light Shabbat
candles, light a menorah on Chanu-
kah, bring traditional Jewish food into
our homes—apples and honey as we
prepare to celebrate Rosh Hashanah,
latkes on Chanukah, challah on
Shabbat, matzo at Passover,
and so many other won-
derful holiday foods.
For others it is
performing acts of
kindness—tikkun
olam—helping
to put the pieces
back together.
In our own
community
Jewish Family
Services, the
Spinoza Soci—
ety and chevra.,
- :22 a: Misharqeme-to
mind. L
We lay the
foundation for
our children to
experience Juda-
ism throughout their
lives by providing them
with age-appropriate Jewish
children’s literature and music
through PJ Library, Jewish camps start-
ing with our own Camp Shalom to Jew—
ish overnight camps throughout our
region and Israel, Hebrew and Sunday
school, Jewish pre- schools, and youth
groups, which are open to all without
regard to affiliation, membership, expe-
rience or means.

The Federation exists to help the Jewish
community of Central Kentucky fulfill
their aspirations as Jews by investing
in, sponsoring and promoting pro-
grams that further Jewish engagement,
help people in need, and build a stron-
ger Jewish community for all. I invite
you all to commit, or recommit, to your
Jewish identity. YOu don’t have to wait
50 years! L’shana tova tikatevu. it!

 

Editorial

David Wortman

 

A renewal of peace talks between Israel
and the Palestinian Authority has be-
gun. Israel has committed to a release
of Palestinian prisoners as a good faith
gesture. Mahmoud Abbas, Palestinian
PM, has not reciprocated with a similar
proposal — that we know of.

The question arises, “What is peace?”
In classical literature, peace is defined
by the Latin phrase, ”pux romanu.” This
peace is the absence of war. Tradition-
ally, this is the common understand-
ing. In our history, treaties ranging
from the Treaty of Paris (1782) ending
the Revolutionary War, to the treaty
ending the war in Vietnam (coincident-
ly also in Paris in 1973), the agreements
were designed to end hostilities. One
might argue that the Revolution con-
tinued through to the War of 1812 with
the Treaty of Ghent. That, however, is a
subject for another time.

Israel. too, has signed treaties. They
have one with Jordan and one with
Egypt. Their other agreements were
armistices, not reciprocal treaties.

 

While a majority of Israeli, even world—
wide Jewry, favor this kind of treaty,

there are many differences on how to
achieve it. There is also a growing fear
by many that such a peace is not pos-
sible ~ I among them.

In addition to the pax romana, there

is a Jewish understanding of peace.
This bothers me more than a cessa-
tion of hostilities. The Hebrew word
”shalom” derives from a grammatical
root that refers to ”completeness.” This
requires a sense of being whole, of hav-
ing a state of mutual recognition and
understanding, not just the absence of
bullets flying. This is much harder to
achieve. Several generations of Israelis
and Palestinians have grown to hate.

In the 1950s we said, “The only good
communist was a dead communist.”
This temperament exists in the Middle
East today — just substitute Jew or Arab
for communist.

For there to be true peace, we must
go beyond words on a piece of paper.
though that is an important first step.
We must commit ourselves to shalom.
This is very difficult after 65 years of
hostility. However, we must not take
our eyes off the prize. Q

 

 

Jewish
Family
Services

3%

  

    
   
 

[9ft

   

Guest speaker, Mary Volkerding

Community Relations Representative for the Kentucky Health Cooperative

Thursday, September 12th at 7:00 pm

She will be going over the key aspects of the Affordable Care Act, including the important
dates to know in order to apply for assistance. This talk will be helpful for anyone who is
underinsured or uninsured. it is also designed to help answer questions for anyone who
provides direct services to families.

at the Federation office o 1050 Chinoe Road, Suite 112
RSVP by September 10th to JFS@jewishIexington. org or call Mimi Kaufman 269-8244

 
  
 

 

 

For more information about these events, to RSVP, or to arrange 522%
transportation to the event location, please contact Mimi @

Kaufman at (859) 269—8244 or jfs@jewishlexington.org.
September 2013 Shalom | 3

 

 

 

 

  

JFS: At Your Service

Mimi Kaufman, JFS Director

 

It is hard

to believe
that another
summer has
flown by. I
know it is
cliché, but time really does fly when
you are having fun. Speaking of fun,

I am writing this article as we (the
Federation office) are in the middle

of our own summer day camp, Camp
Shalom. I have been so impressed with
our youngsters, both campers and staff
members. I had the pleasure of work-
ing with the camp staff prior to the
beginning of camp. I was so impressed
with the staff's commitment to help-
ing our children grow and learn. They
worked hard to help the kids experi-
ence new things and experience the

 

”Ask JFS”

joys of just being together.

I hope that your children had a great
time, and I hope that you parents made
a few new friends too.

On a side note, I want to mention
again that Jewish Family Services

is always happy to take scholarship
applications to help offset the cost of
any Jewish Camp experience either

at home or away. The process is very
confidential. The best thing you could
do for your kids, if you know that you
want them to go to camp next summer,
is plan ahead. Start talking to friends
about carpools, if the drive is a barrier,
and do not be shy about applying for
scholarship if needed. :3

 

Jewish Family Services

ANNOUNCEMENT

On Thursday Sept 12th at 7pm, Mary Volkerding, the Community
Relations Representative with Kentucky Health Cooperative, a
member—governed non-profit organization, will be coming to the JFB
office to give a short presentation that is designed to focus on some
key aspects of the Affordable Care Act. The presentation will include
reviewing important dates and learning how to apply for assistance.

If you are uninsured or underinsured, this is a great opportunity to
come, listen and learn. If you are someone who provides direct ser—

 

vices to families or a volunteer who works with families, this 20-min-
ute presentation about options available, will hopefully help you
better serve your constituents.

Please RSVP by Sept 10th to JFS@jewishlexington.org
or call Mimi Kaufman at 269-8244

 

 

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4 | September 2013 Shalom

  

 

PJ Library Celebrates Sukkot at
the Kentucky Children’s Garden

Sukkot, the fall holi-
day of thanksgiving,
the end of the fall har-
vest and nature as a
whole, starts five days
after Yom Kippur and
lasts for a week. This
year, Sukkot begins at
sunset on Wednesday,
September 18th.

Mark your calendars

for an exciting Sukkot program as P]

Library and the Kentucky Children’s
Garden team together. We will gather
together at the Kentucky Children’s

’ Garden, 500 Alumni Drive, from 5:00

 

~ 7:00 pm on Sunday,
September 22, 2013.
Emma Trester-Wilson
of the Kentucky Chil-
dren’s Garden will
guide us through the
garden and lead us in
nature activities. Be
sure to dress for the
weather — we will be
outdoors. X3

Look for further information on the [PB
website, on Facebook, and emails. For ad-
ditional information, please contact Lori
Bernard at 859-683-0672 or lori@jewish—
lexington.org

 

Edible Sukkot

 

THE HOLIDAY OF SUKKOT is named
after the booths or huts in which Jews
are supposed to live during this week-
long festival. The huts are supposed
to remind us of the flimsy houses our
ancestors lived in as they traveled
through the desert heading towards
Israel. Eating and living in a sukkah
forces us to think about the important
things in our lives. Sukkot is also a
harvest festival and considered an es-
pecially happy and festive time. Even

 

 

 

if you are not able to build a Sukkah
for outdoors, you can enjoy the holiday
with your children and build an edible
Sukkah.

To make your sukkah you
need:

0 Square or rectangular rice cakes,
graham crackers, or homemade rice
crispy treats for the walls

0 Peanut butter, soy butter, or nutella
for the ”glue”

0 Pretzel sticks, for the sekhakh (roof-
ing)

0 Miniature fruit-shaped candies,
M&M's, fruit-jellies for the decora-
tions (be creative)

Glue together 3 walls. Glue pretzel
sticks across the top of the walls. Deco-
rate as desired.

Each one takes just a few minutes to
build, and even very young children
can join in with a little bit of help.

 

Kid-Friendly
Snacks for the
Sukkah

 

    

 

 

SUKKOT IS HERE.

It’s a time when we shake the etrog
and lulav and invite guests over to
spend time with us in our sukkahs.

This Sukkot, enjoy togetherness
inside the sukkah by reading aloud a
few of your favorite PJ Library books
(along with a few tasty snacks!)

SNACKS IN THE SUKKAH
As your family enjoys time together
in sukkah (hopefully doing some
reading aloud), you will need some
tasty things to nosh. Here are a few
delicious starting points:

Since Sukkot takes place during the
time of the harvest, it’s appropri—
ate to enjoy such foods as fruits and
vegetables.

0 Trail Mix — Make a seasonal
trail mix out of roasted pumpkin
seeds, almonds, craisins, chocolate
chips, and peanuts.

0 Celery and Peanut Butter — Since
stuffed foods are typical on Suk-
kot, go ahead and "stuf " peanut
butter into celery for a healthy
snack. Top with raisins for a sweet
addition.

0 Vegetables and Hummus — Cut
up cucumbers, carrots, tomatoes,
or any other veggie favorites for
dipping into hummus.

More adventurous families may want
to make miniature edible sukkahs.
(See Edible Sukkot article) x:

 

 

 

 

It is no’tt'oo'l‘ate
to: Refer a Friend

to P] Library
and receive a $10
Starbuck’s Card!

PJ Library is a wonderful Jewish fam-
ily engagement program that mails
free, high-quality Jewish children’s
literature and music to families across
the continent on a monthly basis. The
program is underwritten by the Harold
Grinspoon Foundation and a partner—
ship with very generous local sponsors
here in Lexington. PJ Library enables
young families to explore the time-
less core values of Judaism through
books and music on a daily basis in
their homes. All families in the Central
Kentucky area who are raising Jewish
children from age six months up to
eight years of age are welcome to sign

up.

Here in Lexington, we have reached
over 140 children over the past two
plus years. This is well above our goals
as set by PJ Library, but we refuse to
rest here on our past accomplishments.
Our goal is to continue to reach out
and find Jewish families with young
children and sign them up for P]
Library. We want every young Jewish
family to receive books and music and
participate in the fantastic program-
ming we offer in Lexington.

In an effort to find more families, we
are running a REFER A FRIEND cam-
paign. From now through September
2013, if you refer an eligible friend to
PJ Library, we will give you a $10 Star-
buck’s gift card. That’s right, you will
get a $10 Starbuck’s gift card for every
eligible friend you refer to us at the
Jewish Federation of the Bluegrass.

For a friend to be eligible for their
child(ren) to be a part of PJ Library,
one parent must be Jewish, and they
must live in the Central Kentucky area.
In order for you to get your Starbuck’s

see Refer a Friend, page 15

Septemberzola Shalom | 5

 

  

HUC-JIR Presidential News: Mazal Tov Aaron
Panken. Thank you David Ellenson.

Dear Colleagues,

We are delighted to share the happy
news that our colleague, Aaron Pan-
ken, has been elected President of
HUC-IIR, effective January 1, 2014. The
message from Irwin Engelman, Board
Chair, conveying this news is below.

The selection of Aaron is an inspired
one. He is a brilliant, mature, and
experienced rabbi and teacher, a prod-

uct of our Reform Movement, and a
genuine mensch. He will bring to this
position a wealth of experience and
institutional knowledge, an impressive
skill set, leadership, vision, integrity,
and a deep devotion to the College—
Institute and the Reform Movement.
He enjoys the confidence and respect
of his colleagues and will be both a
superb leader of the College-Institute
and a strong partner with the CCAR,
the URI, and other Movement entities

in our sacred work. We look forward to
working with him in the years to come.

As we welcome the news of Aaron’s
appointment, we express our immea-
surable gratitude to David Ellenson for
his superb presidency of the College-
Institute. David is an iconic figure and
will surely go down in the annals of
our Movement as one of its most dis-
tinguished and successful leaders. We
look forward to honoring him at our

Chicago Convention in March and we
are heartened to know that David will
help ensure Aaron's successful transi—
tion to the presidency as he builds
upon the legacy of his predecessors.

L’shalom uzr’racha,

Rick Block, President
Steve Fox, Chief Executive

 

Green Team News

On August 2nd, Beate Popkin, presi-
dent of the local chapter of ”The Wild
Ones,” spoke after services in the
library on The Four Reasons Why We
Should Garden With Native Plants.

For those who were unable to attend
this very illuminating talk, her main
four points were as follows:

1) Native plants are very beauti
ful and add color and variety
to what might otherwise be a
more restrictive-looking land-
scape.

2) Native plants are adapted to
our climate and can handle the
changes in temperature and
moisture without needing a lot
of care.

3) Native plants have evolved
over millennia with our native
fauna and therefore provide
food and shelter for them.

This is important because our
modern neighborhoods have
largely eliminated habitat
environments for native fauna,
especially pollinators. Without
pollinators we would not have
food (remember honey bees are
not native to America and may
be becoming endangered right
now).

6 | September 2013 Shalom

4) Native plants help keep the
non-native invasives at bay.
Non-native plants do not have
natural controls to restrict their
growth, so over time they take
over an environment and keep
spreading as birds carry their
seeds from one place to anoth-
er. Pollinators do not prolifer-
ate in their presence because
they have not adapted over
millions of years to the non-
native characteristics.

Some undesirable non-native plants
in our area are ornamental pear trees,
burning bush, honeysuckle, winter
creeper and Japanese Siltgrass.

Local sources for native plants are:
Shooting Star Nursery, 160 Soards Rd,
Georgetown; Springhouse Gardens,
6041 Harrodsburg Rd, Nicholasville;
Michler’s Florist, 417 E. Maxwell St.,
Lexington

An excellent book on this subject is
Bringing Nature Home by Douglas
Tallamy. X3

 

tiwibtec

 

follow us on

 

@J FedofBluegrass

 

 

www.facebook.com/
JFedoftheBluegrass

 

 

published Ell this box in Shalom.

by giving a special contribution.

Thank you for your support.

 

Make (1 donaticm to the lavish Federation :2 Em w art
ofsomconc. or in celebration (1le speciat w and help EH“)
nurture the values of tikkim olam t repairiza
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our lewish ct‘nnmunity at home and abroad.

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 My Mundane Existence is an Apple to Your Orange

By Lisa Miller

 

 

Anochi afar v’efer. In Hebrew this
means, ”I am but dust and ashes.”

Seems to be a less than perky reminder
about the inevitable, I know, but it
does offer supportive wisdom.

In the Jewish spiritual tradition of
Mussar (the Hebrew word for ethics),
the soulful human trait of humility
plays a fundamental role in a life of
balance. Realizing that each of us, no
matter our accomplishments, inevita-
bly becomes part of the physical earth,
is humbling.

Given the truth of this ultimate reality,
how can any of us believe we are infe-
rior to others, or superior? Anochi afar
v’efer — it’s a perspective grabber, and a
cool equalizer.

This raises a significant question about
what it means to be human in the time
we have. How do we strive to fill in
the time between life and, ahem, the al-
ternative? How do we make our lives
meaningful even in the mundane?
How is one’s ”mundane” existence
actually not inferior to someone else’s
life of adventure, leadership, and intel-

lectual contribution?

We think of all kinds of answers here,
or maybe we don’t even know where
to begin.

The ancient Mussar rabbis taught that
each human is born with a personal
spiritual curriculum to fulfill, and that
we are each assigned the task of mas-
tery of something in our lives. While
culturally today, we tend to think that
the something should relate to profes-
sional life or contribution to world
repair, the teachings here focus on a
more intimate area of human life ex-
perience, one that holds true no matter
the decade in which we come across
the teachings.

The mastery of something refers to the
inner realm, the part of us expressed
through the soul traits we are all

born with, but that each of us have in
varying degrees of development and
measure: humility, patience, gratitude,
compassion, order, equanimity, honor,
simplicity, enthusiasm, silence, gener-
osity, truth, moderation,loving-kind—
ness, responsibility, trust, faith, yirah
(awe of God).

Mussar practice, which involves ex-
ploring the individual spiritual curric-
ulum and behaving ourselves into con-
sciousness and menschlichkeit (mensch: a
Yiddish word for person who does the
right thing), is a juicy non-denomina—
tional entrée into spiritual psychology.
It’s not what jobs, titles, accomplish-
ments, responsibilities, and roles we
hold throughout our lives, it’s how.

 

A fundamental
tenet here is
that since each
of us is born
with a personal
curriculum
that shows

up repeatedly
in issues that
challenge us
(take this in for
a moment). We
are also then

     

 
 

«bring new lttflnto your days

 

equipped with
just the right
combination of navigation tools to help
us deal, learn, and grow. But, also,
these ”tools” are on loan. They are
company property, parceled out from
Management, aka The Big Kahuna, aka
The Grand Pubah; aka, God.

We are supposed to remember not to
confuse the self, or “I", with our ac—
complishments when after all the truth
is that we have accomplished x, y, and
z with borrowed tools.

Here are a few good questions then:

If we are each endowed a very spe-
cific curriculum and also a navigation
system, we do so many of us strive for
similar accomplishments? Why do
parents steer children to focus on their
ideas of success? How can we possibly
measure ourselves against others?

The tendency toward external striving
is how we miss the mark because we
either don’t realize that we are essen-
tially spiritual beings having a human
experience, or we forget. No matter

 

where we live, to whom we were born,
no matter what has transpired since
birth, the human purpose in a lifetime
is to realize the potential of one’s soul
and to understand one’s inborn talents
in relationship to it. From here and
here only, all-systems-are-go toward
the external world. Go, be free!

It’s true that a prophet like Moses was
endowed with quite the helping of
leadership potential, and so his life
curriculum, played out in the form of
challenges as a leader, was appropri-
ate for him. In terms of humility, he
appropriately took up a lot of space, as
leaders should.

But not all of us are meant for that kind
of work. The “navigation tools” leased
to each of us give us clues about the
amount of space to fill in the world—
the type of accomplishments to strive
toward. We might be equal in terms

of humanity, but we are apples and

see Apple to Your Orange, page 8

 

 

 
    
     

    

fiss