‘Messengers’: grassroots prayer dynamics
28 SepA few words from one of your “messengers”
“Shaliach tzibbur,” a Hebrew term for prayer-leader, literally means “messenger of the congregation.” As one of your messengers this year, I want to share a few reflections on being an oxymoronic Grassroots Leader.
We Jews rarely object to vicarious prayer experiences. From the “repetition of the ‘amidah” to the ubiquitous AMEN to another’s blessing, we commonly include ourselves in another’s devotions. The musical dimension of prayer, which fascinatingly has been the Jewish tradition most resistant to written codification, has also contributed to the emphasis on the singing voice of the prayer-leader—often to the exclusion of other very relevant considerations. What qualities should be important to us in one who would lead us or be our messenger before God? Whatever they might be, an operatic aria voice is unlikely to be high on the list.
My teacher Shlomo Carlebach used to say that he sang well enough for people to enjoy, but not so well that people didn’t feel comfortable singing along. That’s an ideal I embrace, and hope that it will be the norm for our Grassroots dovening leaders. Our goal should be to facilitate rather than to perform.
The High Holidays, of course, are so much about the melodies, old and new, that open our hearts. There are the melodies we chant together, and the sing-song, ad libidum improvisations on ancient themes intoned by the leader. The problem: for much of the service, it is actually all too easy to stop dovening and leave things in the hands, or rather voice, of the fellow front & centre.
Please don’t do this (too much)—if only for your sake.
The Holy Ba’al Shem Tov had a lot to say about prayer (and I heartily recommend the newly published collection of his teachings on contemplative prayer, translated and annotated by R’ Menachem Kallus from Grassroots Year I – available via http://goo.gl/LNKll). But he had remarkably little to say about the High Holidays, at least if we’re to judge by the very thorough anthology of his teachings as presented in the works of his disciples known as “Besht (=Ba’al Shem Tov) ‘al ha-Torah.” There is, however, a recurring motif in the teachings recorded by his disciples relating to these Days of Awe:
Don’t rely on the “ba’al tefilla” (“master of prayer”).
As the Besht saw it, the prayer leader was something of a heroic figure, akin to an über-warrior that an army might field instead of common foot-soldiers to rout a foe—a David or, le-havdil, a Goliath. The Besht called them “roshei anshei ha-milchamah she-raui she-yalbish shiryon” (“heads of the men of war, worthy of wearing armour”). While the Besht admitted that heroes could sometimes prove themselves worthy and achieve victory, he felt that generally they were a bad bet. His advice: don’t rely on ringers, don’t rely on “masters of prayer.” Instead, fend for yourself, do it yourself. More precisely, do it yourselves: with the strength of the entire community. (Note the telling absence of 1st person singular prayers over these holidays, as if to make it inevitable that we get the message: we’re in this together.)
This is the horizontal ethos of Grassroots. This year even more of us are involved in leading the services, thus bringing our core values to this critical dimension of the High Holiday experience more than ever. Although the executive decision to get more people leading has been taken, the true Grassroots decision to get every participant dovening him or herself into the Book of Life (along with the rest of us!) can only be taken by YOU.
Shlomo once said that it’s stupid to think that being written in the Book of Life (or the other Book) meant that a person would literally live (or the other option) the following year. Obviously big sinners who have to be in the other book enjoy long lives, and sadly we know all to many wonderful people who don’t. So what’s it all about? The Book of Life is about being truly alive, about being deeply connected to life, to love, to God. Our New Year is about finding our way back to that connection to Life, with an inner strength given to us as a gift of renewal…that could only come from Heaven. Lets find it on our own, together.
Blessings,
Yossi
GR2011 Service Times
23 SepErev Rosh Hashana (Weds & Thurs evening)
Barchu – 7pm
Erev Yom Kippur
Yom Kippur
Luncheon
23 SepThe Basics:
There is a kiddush provided mid-service to keep us all going, and a communal ‘bring a dish pot-luck’ lunch at 2pm when services end!
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PotluckLunches
Please *carefully* read the information below.
As many of you who have attended Grassroots events before will know, our beautiful community will be organizing and creating Lunch, for both days of Rosh Hashana, via a “Potluck” system.
As a community we will *together* provide all the yummy food & drink that will nourish us over Chag!
Because there are simply so many of us, we do need a little bit more direction than normal to ensure that we don’t simply end up with 3000 pots houmous!
–
Thus, we have divided up the roles according to the first letter of our first names. [Eg Julia Cohen will be “J”.]
Please note that there are different roles for each of us for each of the days.
(bar letters L, M & P for practical purposes).
This may mean that you may be asked to bring e.g. a salad for the first day and then e.g. drinks for the second day.
If you are only attending lunch on one day, simply bring with the food/ drink according to that specific day’s requests. Don’t worry about the other day that you’re not attending!
–
Do ensure that the food is either strictly vegetarian or supervised kosher. Wine does not have to be kosher, although it would be appreciated if it could be.
–
**PLEASE CLEARLY LABEL**your food with one of the following:
- “1st day Kiddush”
- “1st day Lunch”
- “2nd day Kiddush”
- “2nd day Lunch”
Otherwise we won’t know how to divide up the enormous amounts of food!
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Any questions at all, feel free to call Bronya on 07507825988.
–
Check out the table below to see what we’d like you to bring with:
| **LUNCH** |
Day 1 (Thursday) |
Day 2 (Friday) |
| Proper Main Courses e.g lasagna, curry &rice, tofu, stir fry, quorn, pie, veggie cholent, lots roast veggies, quiche, gratin.
(NOT couscous or bulghar wheat- these are salads!)
|
A-E |
R-Z |
| Saladse.g. bean salad, potato salad, couscous salad, lentil salad etc |
J,K |
F,G,H, K, N |
| Deserte.g. cake, crumble, fruit salad, meringues, ice cream, mousse. |
L,M |
L,M |
| ChallahEach “P” to bring 4 large challahs per meal.Any problems with this, call Bronya |
P |
P |
| Dipse.g humous, guacamole etc3-4 pots each please. |
N, T, V |
D |
| Soft Drinks |
F,G,H,Y |
B |
| Wine |
R,V,Y,Z |
A |
| **KIDDUSH** |
Day 1 (Thursday) |
Day 2 (Friday) |
| Fruit |
S- guys! |
C &E |
| Wine |
S- girls! |
J
|
Grassroots Tunes
22 SepHarry Marin will be leading Ma’ariv and Mussaf on RH2.
Get ready for the day by getting to know the tunes…
There’s about 15 tunes there – of which the key ones are:
Chamol al Ma’asechah
U’netanah Tokef
Adam yesodo mey-afar
Kiy Keshimchah
Vechol ma’aminim
Hayom Harat Olam
Haben Yakir Li
Elul Art and Brain Day Program
14 SepThe Art and Brain Day runs from 11am ’til 5pm
(We might go crazy and have a good ol’ dance as an afterparty for an hour or so!)
Let us know you’re attending on the facebook event page!
Make
An Artist’s heaven! But please note: YOU DO NOT NEED TO BE AN ARTIST TO LOVE OUR ART DAY.
We have tonnes of materials to play around with and create art for our space. Come and have some new-fashioned good-hearted fun!
–
Rutie Borthwick our Artist in Residence will be teaching some techniques (tie-dye, paper cutting, crocheting) no prior artistic skill necessary! We’d love as many people as possible to make some links in our massive crocheted mechitza…
[tie-dye workshop (11.30am), paper cuttings workshop (12.45pm), crochet workshop through the day and general art creation advice if desired!!]
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Sara Wolfistz is making ‘alternative rosh hashana cards’ (bring any cuttings etc. – although we’ll have material for you too!).
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3.15-4.45 Charlie Kane “Elul: Unlocking the Soul”
[Looking at how we judge and forgive ourselves, using mask making, visualisation and other creative arts techniques. No arts experience necessary, just an open heart. (1 ½ hr - closed space).]
Learn
11.30-12.30 Benedict Roth: “Dancing through Yom Kippur”
[Yom Kippur is a day for dancing just as much as for fasting. Find out why.]
–
11.30-12.30 Harry Marin: “‘A blessing, a blessing!’ vs. ‘Who threw that? No one, gets to stone anything, until I say so’: A brief history of the Priestly caste and how to ‘duchen’.
–
12.45-1.45 Lucy Newman and Alon Freiberger: “Buber, Heschel & Aish Kodesh: Approaches by great modern Jewish thinkers for accessing spirituality in the contemporary era.”
[A discussion based session using key modern Jewish texts about overcoming banality in our age.]
–
12.45-1.45 Yehuda Apter: “Existentialism, Teshuva & Desire: New Age fun with a vintage feel”
[This somewhat comprehensive presentation (questions welcome!) reveals halachic, midrashic and kabbalistic approaches to teshuva (repentance?) through key biblical, midrashic, Talmudic and medieval sources. Come if you like text!]
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2.00-4.00 Rabbi Judith Rosen Berry: “reading levinas/reading talmud: ‘what is good?’”
[No knowledge of Levinas, Talmud or anything really required for this session]
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4.00-5.00 Daniel Lichman: “Turning Days into a Journey”
[Through learning, sharing and visualisation exercises this session will explore how Elul and the High Holy Days can be used as a powerful personal journey of growth and discovery.]
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Heal
12.45-3.15 Daniel Kingsley: Refresh and renew for Rosh Hashana with a craniosacral session!
Craniosacral therapy is a gentle yet powerful touch-based holistic therapy that supports the body in returning towards its healthiest and most natural state. It relieves stress, tension, neck and back issues and can be used to treat a wide variety of conditions that typically can’t be treated with conventional medicine. Sessions take place fully clothed and most people experience cranio sessions as very relaxing.
Daniel Kingsley is a craniosacral therapist who has a regular practice on Mondays at Moishe House. As part of the Grassroots Elul Art Day, Daniel is offering you the opportunity to try craniosacral therapy and experience the deep relaxation and healing that it can offer.
He is offering “taster” half hour sessions at the discounted rate of £25 and full-length hour long sessions for the discounted rate of £50. Details of Daniel’s work can be found at his website www.reconnectohealth.co.uk – Sessions will be available on the day and can also be prebooked as of now.
To find out more or to book your session call Daniel on 07958 655 406.
*Please note* Daniel is offering his services in a professional capacity, so do bring some money if you’d like one of his phenomenal sessions!
Skill
Michael Grant will be picking up your service skills and making you feel confident in the various roles possible! Michael will be showing how to perform hagbaha (lifting of the torah) and providing advice for being a Gabbai (service overseer).
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Harry Marin will be teaching some of the tunes we’ll be singing over the high holidays so you recognise the music instead of trying to learn it on the day! One of the best ways to feel part of the community and ensure you enjoy the day – know the tunes!
Delicious Grassroots pot luck meal info for 2011
11 Sep
RRR baking bread at the Carlebach retreat in Tuscany last year
Dear friends,
So, we’re having pot luck meals on both RH days one and two.
Please bring a lovely big vegetarian dish to share! All welcome ! The meals are being organised by Bronya, Anick, Michelle and Dalya. They’ll be posting more info here very soon.
You may be wondering, what are we doing for evening meals ? There are NO plans for evening meals on Rosh Hashana first or second night. If you are from out of town and staying at the Moishe House, there will be a small dinner for you and the other out-of-towners who are staying there, and please note that it will be fully pot luck – we welcome you but please can you all bring a dish to share for supper. If you’d like to stay over nearby please add your dets to our accomodation messageboard.
More info to come. We’re tingling with excitement.
Lots of love, the grassroots team xx
Grassroots Elul ‘Art and Brain’ Camp Sunday September 18th
11 SepElul is the Hebrew month preceding the High Holidays. It is a time dedicated to preparing ourselves for the upcoming Big Days. Come to our Elul day so that when we hit Rosh Hashana you feel ready instead of bewildered. Guaranteed to enhance your Grassroots experience or I’m wrong.
Grassroots Art Camp:
Create our space. Rutie Borthwick, Rachel Marcus and Alli Ziontz will be coordinating this day of creation, decoration and adornment for the Grassroots temporary home in Moishe House. Come and crochet a part of our new trichitza with Rutie and help make beautiful things to make our space beautiful. Laura Wolfitz will be making ‘alternative’ Rosh Hashana cards with anyone who is tired of the usual crappy stuff you can get.
Grassroots Elul Learning:
Program of talks, shiurim and lectures by the best in the business. More of the high quality approachable learning that Grassroots hosts. Speakers include: Rabbi Judith Rosen Berry, Benedict Roth, Daniel Lichman, Prof. Vic Seidler. Subjects range from Talmudic insights into fasting to understanding Rosh Hashana through the lens of submissive/dominant sexuality.
Full program to be published nearer the date!
More info on Facebook here.
Do it.
Alon
(As ever, email us for the exact address at grassrootsjews@gmail.com)
Help keep this show on the road! Sponsor some cakes, chairs, art materials or flowers!
8 SepDear friends, As we are a grassroots thing we do not receive any funding from donors.
All our costs are covered by membership and our own fundraising. We really really want to make it possible for as many people as we can to join us for Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur. Are you able to help sponsor Grassroots ?
Might you, whether you’re a regular or just love what we’re doing, be able to sponsor certain things which we have to purchase for Grassroots this year ?
The art materials for the Grassroots mechitza: £40.
Wine for kiddush on day one: £25
Wine for kiddush on day two: £25
Cakes for kiddush both days: £30
The hiring of 50 chairs for the marquee: £50
The hiring of the other 50 chairs for the marquee: £50
Hiring tables for the marquee: £20
Printing 250 Grassroots flyers so we can spread the word and the love around the community: £30
Printing the other 250 Grassroots flyers so we can spread the word about Grassroots services and spread the love: £30
Printing the lovely inspiration and explanation booklet: £60
Flowers for the bima + entrance to the marquee: £20
If you are able to help us with any of these, please do email us at grassrootsjews@gmail.com, in complete confidentiality. Our sponsors will be anonymous, however we will be thanking our sponsors at a special dinner over Sukkot yom tov, in the Marcus family sukkah! Thank you so much!
Leyning – Reclaiming the ancient tradition: learn a few sentences at our communal leyning mashup
1 SepPlease contact daniel@reisel.net if you’d like to leyn and he will give you a slot!
The Grassroots Team
