Youth Education

Dear Friends of Bay Area Midrasha, 

In the coming months you will be introduced to the new Director of Bay Area Midrasha, Kendra Lubalin. I hope you will welcome her wholeheartedly to this community. As this is probably my last bulletin article I will write in that capacity myself, in addition to thanking you all for your support for 17 years, I want to share with you excerpts from my recent address to this year’s graduating class. 

To get the best view of what Midrasha is and does, you would need to come to graduation yourself and listen to the students. However, I believe my remarks both about and to this sterling class will give you a sense of how the Judaic lessons we try to impart are a combination of the academic, the ethical and the social. We hope our students explore what it means to be a mensch, and a Jewish learner, and then mold what they learn to fit their unique talents and interests. We want them to become and stay a part of the Jewish community, to put a Jewish spin on being a human being, and to use Jewish teachings to mold a life of service and personal fulfillment.  I hope you will find it worthwhile reading.  

Elaine Bachrach 

First I want to salute you, The wonder class ….You are all wonders; your individual and collective potential is inspiring, and you have been wonderful. Your teachers have been raving about you for years, and now I say thank you…. I am gratified to leave Midrasha along with you. You have been terrific, you are our largest graduating class ever, and you fill us with hope. 

That said, the job of the faculty member giving the so-called “Charge to the Class”, is not to congratulate you, but literally to “send you packing”; that is, to see that you take with you the appropriate baggage. So …. if I really must burden you, just as you are approaching a new level of freedom and adventure, what message would I have you take along? 

The message is this: Remember How to Study Torah—that is, not the content itself, what you usually think you should you remember from Torah, but rather remember the method: how do you study Torah? … In Midrasha, you might or not have used the traditional method embodied by the Hebrew acronym PARDES, whose letters pe, resh,dalet, samech, represent the words  pshat, remez, drash and sod, …but I want to review the method with you tonight…: because, like  your American Express card, I don’t think you should leave home without it. Why? Because I think this method will remind you of a host of great advice, an approach to all of your life experiences that is well worth adopting. It’s a simple system for taking stock, for asking yourself the kinds of questions that can lead you, not only to greater knowledge and deeper understanding, but hopefully and eventually to the goal of all Torah study-- to wisdom.

 So here is the PARDES method in its 4 steps: Given any text:

Pshat: What is the simple surface meaning ?

Remez: Are there any hints here, any allusions to other texts, other situations?

Drash: What is the explanation? What’s the whole story? The context?

Sod: On the deepest level, what is the secret hidden here? 

Let us look at the four steps as they apply to your life. According to the Pardes method, how should you meet the many experiences in your future? 

Pshat: the simple meaning:

Always start at the beginning……Always strive to know first what the facts are, what was actually said, done, who are the players, what are the rules of the game.? Be observant. As we are told of Moses, “v’ha sineh, eineinu uhal” Moses saw that the bush was burning, yet the bush was not consumed. Anyone can see that a bush is burning... but, you have to start by noticing the bush at all…..So stay awake! Pay attention! Be there and be alert! Pshat means simple—Keep it simple—Wake up! Show up! Listen up! and Just do it! 

Remez-A remez is a hint, allusion, or a clue.

As you confront your life, will you have a clue? Being innocent and naïve can be refreshing; being clueless is just plain annoying. So explore more fully, examine more closely, listen more intently, watch with greater focus.  The details in life aren’t just decorations;… So, ... take a hint! Learn from the parallel experience of others, and give of yourself and your experience to help others connect the dots as well. Life may be a charade after all, but having any fun doing it depends on the hints we give and the hints we get. –So engage! Don’t just be a spectator; get in and play the game. Remez is a hint, a clue, an association, and they are everywhere—if you look. 

Drash: Getting or making the explanation, the whole story:

Observing the obvious clues doesn’t mean just plucking the low hanging fruit.  Stretch, push yourself.  Reach. Get the story behind the facts, get people’s stories, notice the consequences of actions. Be inquisitive, take the time to analyze and consider, try to make meaning out of your experiences, seek to gain understanding. As you go through the world, you will find things are as they are, and the current political winds of change notwithstanding, you may or not be able to change them. And often enough, they may change you. What is important is what you can learn from them, create from them, that is meaningful and has some enduring value. What does it mean that the bush was  not consumed? Why wasn’t it? Is there an explanation for what happens? Could there be several? .…..Invest.in the process. Seek meaning and then…Articulate your own truths, your own drash, your personal interpretation. 

Pshat: Get the simple facts; Remez: follow all the clues, then Drash: figure out the explanations that work for you.

And finally, Sod-Sod is a secret.

In studying Torah, this deepest level of meaning may be mystical; it will surely always be personal, intuitive, and spiritual. ….. sharing secrets, your own and those of others, makes you vulnerable. It’s scary, but brings with it the magic bonding ingredient of trust which leads to love. Exploring secrets can have a high cost; yet the reward is great too. So protect yourself, of course, but do not make of that protection an impenetrable fortress. Keep handy the keys to an inner you, keep the locks well oiled whether through meditation, prayer, or nature. Stay open to your own inner voice; stay open to others, stay open to mystery, stay open to love. Sod is a secret, and only you can know the secrets that will nourish your own soul. 

So there you have the baggage I recommend, the charge I give you: PARDES, the Hebrew acronym for Pshat, Remez, Drash , and Sod, is  a method, a gimmick, a traditional way to study Torah, and, I submit, also a way to encounter life. May you remember it; may you find meaning, and may you find love. 

You have often sung the song Etz Chaim He—the Torah is a tree of life. Indeed. And, the study of Torah is PARDES, an acronym that spells the word for orchard. May you remember the Torah and how to study it, and may your life, like the tree and the orchard, be fruitful. 

Elaine Bachrach

YOUTH GROUP ENTERS ALAMEDA SAND CASTLE CONTEST

AT CROWN BEACH

On Saturday, 7 June, the City of Alameda Parks and Rec Department held its 42nd annual Sand Castle and Sand Sculpture Contest at Crown Beach. 

Gathering at the beach at 8:30 in preparation for the 9:00 start was Jordan Levy.  We began the day digging up the beach and carrying buckets of sand/mud to our plot and building up a mound so we could then carve out a castle.  This exhausting work was completed in about an hour.   

We took a little break, contemplated our mound and tried to envision a castle, and then started the task of carving up the mud mound into a castle.  We ended up with a large castle in the back and two smaller ones in the front, at about a 45 degree angle from the rear castle.  

But, we were not yet done.  We built walls connecting the three elements so we had a triangular fort.  We added turrets to the tops of the walls and the tops of the three castles.  Finally, we added smaller houses and trees in the space enclosed by the walls. 

Unfortunately, none of the judges understood the true meaning of our castle and it’s great intrinsic beauty, and we did not receive a prize.  However, we did get a great day at the beach, drank a lot of water and soda, and generally had a good time. 

For more information about the youth group, call Skip Soskin at 510-521-9651.

Youth Education

Our Religious School reflects the warmth and commitment of the congregation. We work hard to create an environment where children can develop strong, positive Jewish identities, and begin to fulfill the goals of Jewish education established by our Religious School Committee. These goals include being able to communicate to our congregation and to the community that Temple Israel is a place of learning for all ages. We strive to engender a strong, positive Jewish identity and relationship to the community, and educate children and families in Jewish history, Torah, Bible, religious practice, culture, ethics, and Hebrew, through traditional and non-traditional means. We believe that Judaism contains the answers to the challenges and questions confronting the human spirit, and that only a knowledgeable Jew can successfully discover these answers.

Classes for preschoolers through seventh graders are held on Sunday mornings. Fourth to seventh graders also come to Hebrew School on Sunday mornings one hour prior to Religious school and on Wednesday afternoons.

Please feel free to call or email the Temple office and to leave your name and number if you would like more information.

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Ask JCI & R

Welcoming visitors this summer?  Here are ways to explore Jewish San Francisco:

1.        Feel:  George Segal’s “The Survivor” sculpture at the Lincoln Park, near the Legion of Honor;

2.        Pray in the new Jewish cable car and in magnificent synagogues;

3.        See exhibits in the Contemporary Jewish Museum, the Judah Magnes Museum and galleries displaying Jewish art;

4.        View  architecture: the magnificent  Haas Lilienthal House, a  wonderful example of Victorian heritage with Jewish history;

5.        Eat and drink at kosher restaurants and kosher wineries;

6.        Experience a music, theater, film, or outdoor event;

7.        Shop for Jewish books and gifts and art;

8.        Read about the history of Jews of San Francisco; 

9.        Tour a kosher chocolate factory;

10.        Be inspired by prominent early Jewish philanthropists.

For more information about a Jewish view of San Francisco, and connecting to Jewish life, call Jewish Community Information and Referral, 415 777 4545 or local toll free 877 777 5247 or email Info@JewishNfo.org