Welcome Shonna to the Web!

BS"D

Judaic Artist Eshet Hazzan Shonna Husbands-Hankin has a beautiful new website. Finally, her light is accessible to the world!

Smicha with Reb Maggid Buxbaum

BS"D


Thank you Reb Maggid. I don't know how to describe what happened in that moment. You invoked the presence of so many holy souls-- Reb Shlomo, HaBescht, Eliyahu HaNavi... what words are there for a transmission of this kind? My life will never be the same. Peace to you.

Maggidim Without Borders

BS"D

Woohoo!!

Coming this summer at long last: MAGGIDIM WITHOUT BORDERS will host the first interfaith maggid intensive for outreach workers in the field.















Featuring renown storyteller, teacher and scholar Maggid Yitzhak Buxbaum, this intensive will bring together outreach workers from the Jewish, Hindu, Sufi, Buddhist, Pagan, Christian, and other traditions to inform, upshore, and cross-pollinate the work we do in the world.

Tentatively scheduled for mid-July in Eugene, Oregon. Stay tuned into this blog or contact altermaggid@moshavhaam.org for more details. This event will be free to teachers in the field and some scholarship $ for travel is available-- don't hesitate to apply.

Baruch HaShem, G-d is great and merciful.

Blessings!

Working Women in Ritual Frontier Land

BS"D

Soferet has a digital camera-- and what a difference it makes! Here is an article of hers worth checking out (they all are) followed below by my comment to her: Netivat Sofrut comments


--Ick!! Soferet prepping skins for parchment... proof that there is holiness in all things. Even bloody gory icky skins can become a precious sefer torah.

Maggid Sarah:

As a working woman maggid (maggidah) in the field, I also am constantly up against the choice of lying to purchase my work and ritual needs, or of learning to make them myself. So far I've chosen to make them rather than imbue my work with the whacked vibrations of "the Lie".


I carved a Yod last year and a woman trope student of mine just wrapped it in beautiful beads and made a matching bag to carry and protect it. Such a holy holy holy way to learn and be present in the world. I think we women are in this position specifically so that we are forced to OWN the process from our womanness (word?) and not to just inherit the system by rote. Can't tell you how many others this empowers in turn to roll up their sleeves and engage themselves in yiddishkeit-- is this why we are commanded to write our own sefer torah? So we have to personally engage the process?

What a powerful and awesome age we live in. Baruch HaShem!

Blessings to you Aviel for this work that you do, and great job with the digital pics-- what a difference that makes, eh?

A Collaborative Effort of Redemption for the Pesach Season:
Hand Carved Yod by Maggid Sarah Etz Alon, Beaded and Decorated, with Inner and Outer Bag by Judaic Artist Susan Jacobson of Eugene, Oregon

Ohhhh Susan, you are awesome! How beautiful this is, I can't wait to initiate it with a sefer torah-- what an honor!

Thank you!

New Pesach Art from Shoshanna

BS"D


As Always, I encourage you to support her work:
Shoshanna Brombacher

Too Excellent!

BS"D


Flip Out Shabbos

From MOChassid-- I couldn't resist, too excellent!

"Shabbos Hagadol at my shul is a coming out party for those young men and women who are in the process of flipping out in Israel.

A lot of kids come back to the US for Pesach (BTW, I don't really get why kids would rather spend Pesach here than in Israel but that's just me. And, I digress).

Annually, on the first Friday night after the kids get home, the place is packed with kids who have never before stepped foot in the shul (some of whose parents must be horrified at the thought). The Rebbe and the shul have big followings among many of the seminaries and yeshivas in Israel so it is natural for the kids who are in the process of flipping to want to daven there.

On motsai Shabbos, when the Rebbe gives his 'motsai Shabbos Hagadol drasha' (Ed: the shul cannot fit the crowd that would come on Shabbos afternoon; so, for the past few years we have been holding the drasha on motsai Shabbos. We have video feeds into our social hall and bais medrash and are able to accomodate more than 600 people). Once again, the shul is teeming with flip-outs in training.

Aish Kodesh: The leading indicator of flip outs."

13 Attributes of Mercy

BS"D


When exploring topics for this week's torah study, I discovered that I had outlined 13 seperate themes in the Torah readings for the Pesach season. One of the topics is the 13 Attributes of Mercy....hmmmmmm.... 13 topics for study, 13 attributes of mercy-- clearly no maggid worth her money could resist this one. Here they are set side by side together. The translation for the 13 attributes I'm using is gifted to us by R. David Wolfe-Blank (z'l). Keep in mind that the order of torah topics is as it came to me before I thought of this exercise-- sort of an I Ching approach to torah study. I wonder what we'll make of this? Let's see:

Ad-nai, Ad-nai

1) E-L : Expanding force of kindness

Moshe Rabeynu pleas to HaShem on behalf of the people

2) Rachum: Merciful Womb

Thirteen Attributes of Mercy

3) V'Chanun: Graceful Giver

On not seeing the Face of HaShem; On seeing the Back of HaShem; The dialogue between Moshe Rabeynu and HaShem

4) Erech: Long-Stretched Web

The Offerings for Pesach

5) Apayim: Many Faceted Jewel

The relevance of the Pesach offerings to our lives today

6) V'Rav Chesed: Maestro of Generosity

Peoplehood issues, including issues of the Proselyte and Stranger amonst us


7) V'Emet: Dispatcher of Truth

Kashrut Specific Commandments: Lo! ...kid in it's mother's milk; Lo! ...slaughter young and mother on the same day; Lo! ...take young before 8th day.

8) Notzer Chesed: Funnel of Kindness

Redemption of first born; Pidyon HaBen

9) La'alafim: Helper of Thousands

Counting of the Omer and the Pesach-Shavuot cycle

10) Noseh Avon: Tolerator of Distortion

Renewal of Spiritual Life of the People

11) Vafesha: Who puts up with intentional error

Mass Circumcision

12) V'Chata'ah: Shoulders of ommision

Ressurection of Dry Bones

13) V'Nakay: And Cleanses

Messianic Redemption

Minhagim for Passover in a Post-Exilic Age

BS"D


Here are two excellent articles on food, Pesach and tradition for the modern age. I have some thoughts of my own to follow in the next few days, but for now check these out:

From Tzipporah, on choosing from many equally valid minhagim (customs). You'll see in the comments section that I've querried Tzipporah directly on the issue of kashrut-- but only because I know her kavannah to be on the highest level.


From Velveteen Rabbi, inspiring thoughts on the nature of matzah. Always thought provoking, thanks velvet!


From Maggid Sarah: Remember, whatever your pesach customs and observance, the most important thing is to be In Process and to be In Community. See you at the splitting of the sea!

Blessings to you all for a Hag Pesach Tov

Thought the wireless machine was freedom....

BS"D


And then the check came. It's just beginning to dawn on me what freedom is going to mean. Is this what it felt like when the sea split? That first understanding of liberation? I still can't grok it myself. Oh liberty, how sweet thou are. Blessed be HaShem for freeing the captive. May we all have the parnassa to support our souls in the world. AmEn.

Freedom!

BS"D


Yeah, Freedom! I just got a wireless card for my laptop and I feel soooooooooo liberated! For the first time in years I'll be able to work on the machine in my own space and time. Baruch HaShem.