Lmst

#Gospel Reading: John 10:22-30

#Jesus confessed His #relationship with His #Father on #Hanukkah.

https://shj.org/jews-of-latin-america-fall-2024-humanistic-judaism-magazine/

I'm sharing this link to the preview edition of the new issue of #HumanisticJudaism magazine, which focused primarily on the Jews of Latin America, but also on the @SHJ's Humanistic Jewish role model of the year, The Mothers of the Plaza Mayo in Argentina.

This was my final issue as editor, so I thought I would share my editorial note (with some hashtags and links added) from the issue which gives a preview of the content.

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According to Israeli author Yuval Noah Harari (see our review of his latest book on page 7), stories are the life blood of human civilization, providing meaning and context to our experiences in this world. Unfortunately, stories also have a critical weakness. Since they are subjective in nature, the limited perspective and worldview of the storyteller unavoidably distorts the narrative.

For far too long, much of the Jewish institutional world has centered the stories of the Jews of Israel, Europe and North America over all other stories, which means we are missing out on the stories and lessons of Jews from other parts of the world. This issue’s focus on the Jews of #LatinAmerica is intended as a
partial corrective to this omission.

Two of the voices in this issue are from Latin American Jews themselves: Rabbi Andy Faur who wrote about Latin American Jewish peoplehood, and Ilan Rosenthal who shared about #Mishpajag, an experimental Humanistic Jewish community in #Mexico.

The theme of this issue also is connected to this year’s Humanistic Jewish Role Model of the Year: the Mothers of the Plaza de Mayo, a protest movement of mothers who courageously sought the truth about their children who “disappeared” during the days of the US-backed military dictatorship in #Argentina. Their story is told by
Judith Tiferes and Rabbi Miriam Muroff Jerris.

And finally, we have a piece by me on Jewish cultural travel to #Cuba, a place where Judaism is thriving despite challenging circumstances.

In this issue we also hear from Adam King Skrzynskii who makes a humanistic case for the value and relevance of #Hanukkah, as well as Rabbi Jeffrey L Falick who discusses the pernicious nature of
antisemitism that is popping up in unexpected places.

Finally, we have community news updates from Or Emet Minnesota Congregation For Humanistic Judaism (Minneapolis/St. Paul, MN),
Baltimore Jewish Cultural Chavurah (MD), and Or Adam Congregation For Humanistic Judaism (Phoenix, AZ).

Due to my changing life circumstances, this is my last issue of editing this magazine. I am very grateful that I had the opportunity to work with so many incredible people in our movement over the last three years, but I must give a special thank you to Rabbi Miriam Jerris, whose humor and enthusiasm made the challenging parts of the job much easier.

I have a lot of confidence in my successor, Cantor Jonathan L. Friedmann. I believe his long experience engaged in Jewish culture and commitment to our movement will be invaluable. I am excited to see how the magazine will evolve under his leadership.

In gratitude,
JMB
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To subscribe to the magazine, please visit: shj.org/magazine

#HumanisticJudaism

we were on a #Hanukkah vacation back in Israel, and the photos @aniUtna@tooot.im took of us finally got developed!

#FilmPhotography #AnaloguePhotography #beach #TelAviv #trans #lesbian #transbian

my girlfriend looking to the side and smiling. she is wearing a purple sweater and sunglasses, and behind her are some palm trees and clouds. you can see me in my red coat in the reflection in her glasses.
the photo has old-school-photos muted colours resulting from the combination of the film and lighting.

my girlfriend and i taking while standing on the beach. she is wearing a purple sweater and sunglasses, i a red coat, transition glasses and trans-coloured earrings, and a large red purse. behind us are waves and clouds.
the photo has old-school-photos muted colours resulting from the combination of the film and lighting.

my girlfriend looking at the camera and smiling. she is wearing a purple sweater and sunglasses, and behind her are some palm trees and clouds.
in the reflection in her glasses you can see me in my red coat and Utna taking the picture.
the photo has old-school-photos muted colours resulting from the combination of the film and lighting.

my girlfriend being blinded by the sun as she is switching over to sunglasses. she is wearing a purple sweater and glasses, and behind her are some beachfront buildings.
the photo has old-school-photos muted colours resulting from the combination of the film and lighting.

Trio Sefardi plays an hour-long concert of Sephardic music at the Kennedy Center's #MillenniumStage. This genre of early music is an enjoyable mixture of Jewish and Spanish styles.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_DurQ1iD8DI

#EarlyMusic #SephardicMusic #Hanukkah #KennedyCenter #TrioSefardi

Last night I helped* the 11yo put together his Lego Batman Brickheadz, which was his final Hanukkah present. We sipped hot apple cider and listened to the Batman Begins movie soundtrack. A perfect end to my winter break.

*"Helped" in the loosest definition of the word. The 11yo lets me sort and find pieces for him while he does the assembly. Sadly (for me), we're years beyond the point where he actually requires my assistance.

#Lego #Batman #Hanukkah #today

Closeup portrait of Lego Batman Brickheadz figure in design from the Christopher Nolan movie trilogy.

My brother’s kitty chanukiyah! #Chanukah #Hanukkah #Mazeldon #Jewish

A fully lit chanukiyah for night eight. It is short, and each candle and the shamash have a plastic kitty in front. The kitties are different colors like white, orange, grey. The shamash kitty is in a cat tree. The chanukiyah is on a cute kitty tray that shows kittens sitting in a garden.

Eighth and last night of #Hanukkah. #ChagSameach, y’all — and happy New Year too. 🕎

#Jewish #Mazeldon

Tonight: last night of the run, first show of the year, my 4th YLT Hanukkah show, they open by honoring the 40th anniversary of their first show with their original bassist and playing the first songs they ever played live. Cool!

#nycfreaks #livemusic #nyc #ylt #hanukkah #ylthanunakkah #boweryballroom #yolatengo

The final night of #Hanukkah. It’s rare that it continues into January like this. 🕎

Hanukkah menorah with jazz musician figures there are nine candles filling all of the spots for the final night of Hanukkah

I will be tempted to keep tooting Chanukah photos for the near future

#Chanukah #Hanukkah #Mazeldon #Jewish

A brass chanukiyah in front of a dark window, with blue and white candles more than halfway burnt down. The flames reflect in the window. The chanukiyah itself is in shadow.

At this very night - back in 1930's Germany - the words written on the back of this picture are timeless.

https://www.instagram.com/reel/DETbVaLtOn6/?igsh=MXVpcjJkZjJ2ZWl0ZA==

#hanukkah #neveragain #shinebright #lighttheway

Eighth night

#Chanukah #Hanukkah

A basic menorah, sitting on a windowsill, with all candles lit for the last night of Chanukah

Last light. But Chanukah is not over. #Chanukah #Hanukkah #Mazeldon #Jewish #Video

I ended up ironically celebrating Hanukkah in the most Hanukkah way possible. On day 6 I was almost out of oil and wasn't sure if I had enough for all 8 nights. That realization was immediately followed by OMG I'M ALMOST OUT OF OIL AND DON'T KNOW IF I'LL HAVE ENOUGH FOR ALL 8 NIGHTS. 😂

I considered running to the store for about a second, but figured that making that oil last all 8 nights was way more in keeping with the spirit of the holiday. And what do you know? I did end of having just enough for all 8 nights. It was a Hanukkah miracle. 😂

* Hanukkah commentates the miracle of the oil that was only enough for one night, but miraculously lasted for 8.

#hanukkah #jewish #chanukah #Mazeldon

Tonight: new year, same old song. Back to the Bowery for the final night of Hanukkah. First show of 2025 starts with opening set from Antietam. Probably should be in bed.

#nycfreaks #livemusic #nyc #boweryballroom #yolatengo #ylt #hanukkah #ylthanunakkah