(no subject)
Last night, my mom shared an article with me that discussed some of the goings-on at Kutz this summer. It was an interesting read, and kind of made me wish I was there. Its been three summers since I've worked at Kutz, and I feel pretty disconnected from that community. Nevertheless, the four summers I spent at Kutz had a pretty deep impact on me. Kutz served as my personal Jewish laboratory, where I could put into practice things I thought about over the year, and see how my changing practice affected my relationship with the community. After my year at Hebrew U, I made the decision to not apply to go back to Kutz. One of the main reasons prompting that decision was the feeling that my choices about Jewish practice would leave me to distant from the community to have a good summer. When I was a participant at Kutz, being more traditionally observant was a way of separating myself from the community -- a way of demonstrating my own identity. Since then, the notion of community has become much more important to me. I've worked really hard to find the balance between my own needs, and the needs of the community -- and how I can fulfill my own needs without separating from the community.
So far this year it seems (as I was told it would), that I am among the most traditionally observant of my classmates (specifically in regards to prayer, kashrut, and Shabbat). This year, its not so much of a problem. Most restaurants in Jerusalem are kosher, and if you're not leaving the city, there is no real need to drive on Shabbat. Nevertheless, I am concerned. Extended trips to Israel have always left me taking on more mitzvot. The Reform movement is meant to be (in my understanding) a place that supports a plurality of form of Jewish expression. But everyone knows, there are borders -- there are choices that leave you too far from the norm. The less of a priority community members place on the community itself, the tighter those borders are.
I had a lot of friends who didn't think HUC was the place for me. I always told them they were wrong, and I still believe thats true. Still, sometimes I have concerns. I haven't really fully fleshed out my thinking on this, but it definitely leaves me thinking. How do you balance your support between strong community and the individual's journey?
So far this year it seems (as I was told it would), that I am among the most traditionally observant of my classmates (specifically in regards to prayer, kashrut, and Shabbat). This year, its not so much of a problem. Most restaurants in Jerusalem are kosher, and if you're not leaving the city, there is no real need to drive on Shabbat. Nevertheless, I am concerned. Extended trips to Israel have always left me taking on more mitzvot. The Reform movement is meant to be (in my understanding) a place that supports a plurality of form of Jewish expression. But everyone knows, there are borders -- there are choices that leave you too far from the norm. The less of a priority community members place on the community itself, the tighter those borders are.
I had a lot of friends who didn't think HUC was the place for me. I always told them they were wrong, and I still believe thats true. Still, sometimes I have concerns. I haven't really fully fleshed out my thinking on this, but it definitely leaves me thinking. How do you balance your support between strong community and the individual's journey?