Shemini Atzeret 5782 Times and Torah readings never to stop

Simchat Torah is a component of the Biblical Jewish holiday of Shemini Atzeret (“Eighth Day of Assembly”), which follows immediately after the festival of Sukkot in the month of Tishrei (mid-September to early October on the Gregorian calendar).

Sjana tova oemetoeka – שָׁנָה טוֹבָה וּמְתוּקָה

Wij hebben een prachtige zomer, met enkele hitte golven, gehad en hebben deze nu afgesloten om zo weer over te gaan naar het begin van een cyclus. De oogst is binnen gehaald en wij hebben de Hashem bedankt voor al de goede dingen die Hij voor ons heeft voorzien. De vorige jaren zijn wij met…

Fish vs. Pond Size – Jewish Community Edition

For a community that is already small in normal times, there has been a time of more loneliness during the lockdown periods due to the impact of the Coronavirus.
In some countries, things are allowed to return to normal, while in others, such as Belgium, we are still very cautious and foresee Zoom meetings.

We can imagine that in several countries the communities are still a shadow of what they once were. Getting all the congregants turning up again will also not be so simple, because often people have to travel some kilometres to come to service, and as such shall lose again some time by travelling to and fro.

For many, it will be a matter of readjustment and of having healthy fresh water in the fishbowl again. For many, it is also not so evident to get back in form and in confidence to share some tasks. Some prefer to stay in the shadow, whilst others would not mind being lions leading the troup.

We may question how far we as a community want to feel the collective experience. For months, many of us became accustomed to the private enclosure, and prayer time on our own at home.
Now going to yeshivah demands again some effort people have to bring up after work or daily duties.

After the Covid pandemic, we need retaining walls to carry out our daily work and bring life back to the brewery. For this, big fish are welcome to pull the procession of little fish along in an adventure of reading and study, but also of reflection and argumentation.

Now it may well be that people have come to a point where they want to look further afield and go to places where the sea is deeper but where the fauna is also wider and more abundant.

Do not mind exploring other Jewish communities, even when they may be much further or even out of state.
Who would not love to look for a Jewish or a Jeshuaist community that not only is vibrant and fully egalitarian, but also a Jewish community that is still a moderate-big pond post-pandemic with an existing coral infrastructure?

Those who are able to such larger communities are the lucky ones.

I want to be a smaller fish in this pond. I’d like to grow into a big star Torah-reading fish again. And I’m willing to take on some of those thankless coral jobs for the right community. But mostly, I really just want to feel like a fish again.

But do not be discouraged by the lack of large communities. We must be fully aware that, as Children of God, we will only be part of small communities. It is up to us to bring life into our very small communities. Each of us must bring new oxygen and even though the Covid period is not yet over, we must bring back the taste for more. Sometimes we have to do the digging ourselves to make the pond bigger.

Now is the time to bring out the picks and shovels and build a stage on which we can sing and dance together.

Jewish Young Professional

I thought I’d offer a somewhat different take on Fandango’s Provocative Question, as it got me thinking about my preferences and priorities for the Jewish community I want to be a part of, and how they have changed.

I’ve written before about my love for the singing, dancing, energy and celebration of “Big Party Judaism“. I guess this would be a small fish in a big pond model. Even aside from the fun social aspect, I enjoy the spiritual energy of Judaism in a large group of people.

Party time! Photo byQuang Nguyen VinhfromPexels

That said, when it comes to having a congregational home, I found myself more at home in the big fish in a small pond model. I gravitated towards communities where I’d play a bigger more active role, say, as a regular Torah/Haftarah reader, vs. a more passive one…

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Tel Aviv University study found a record-high number of reports of antisemitic activity throughout the world in 2021

Tel Aviv Univ. echoing recent ADL study on antisemitism in the US, find worldwide increase in Jew-hatred over the past year.

Avondklok en restrictie moeilijkheden

De Joodse gemeenschap in België en Nederland kan niet ontsnappen aan het coronavirus, maar is er zich wel bewust van dat er een hele kleine groep is die het moeilijk heeft met de beperkende maatregelen, terwijl de meerderheid zich wel aan alle veiligheidsmaatregelen houdt, en er zelfs gebruik van maakt om te reflecteren over de avondklok ten tijde van Moshe in Egypte.

Greeting 2021

Perhaps we still have to wait until mid-2021 before we can come to normal living again, but at least we can see already a tiny light at the end of the tunnel.

To all a better and newer year full of hope.

May we be blessed to use 2021 for further refection and repair – repairing a world that has been torn by a pandemic and our own wastefulness.

SRQ Jew

It is perhaps fitting that the Jewish community will finish its annual reading of the book of Genesis just as the secular year is ending. Or maybe not; Genesis ends with the deaths of both Jacob and Joseph, on a sorrowful note that portends hundreds of years of slavery.

This year we need something more upbeat, something stirring and hopeful as we exit a year that took the planet by surprise, a year that shattered our expectations of the 21^st century and a year whose very name stands for clear vision.

And yet 2020 was a year marked by murkiness and uncertainty. It felt as if we were moving in a fog. We couldn’t see the end, and didn’t know how to fight an invisible enemy that might or might not kill us. At first we were told that we didn’t need masks. Then we were told that masks…

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9 Av 2020 en Dagen van droefheid

De dag dat een aantal rampen in de Joodse geschiedenis plaatsvonden, voornamelijk de vernietiging van zowel de Salomotempel door het Neobabylonische rijk als de Tweede Tempel door het Romeinse rijk in Jeruzalem, kreeg in dit jaar een andere zwarte vlek van de CoViD-19 pandemie.