Responding to Challenging Times

by Rabbi Debra Smith

I find the times we are living in now to be particularly challenging and wearing. Looking back over my life, I can honestly say that these times are the most difficult and emotionally exhausting ones I have ever experienced.

Being Jewish now is particularly frightening because of the steep increase in antisemitism, outward acts of antisemitism and the seeming lack of public outrage to these incidences. Never have I been afraid to wear my Jewish star or my kippah in public – until now!

More than ever I feel a great need to be part of a safe, trusting, and supportive community.

More than ever I feel a great need to be part of a safe, trusting, and supportive community. I feel especially grateful to be part of Chai Mitzvah’s dedicated, loyal and caring learning community that has grown over the years.

Throughout this past year of teaching in particular, I have sensed the the same concern for antisemitism and the need to be part of a safe and trusting community in the learners that have been part of our learning cohorts at Chai Mitzvah. So many of you, our followers, have attended the Scholars Circle lectures that we have offered and continue to offer.

In order to give our community more opportunities to meet and support each other, we will be offering two new virtual topics in the fall.

Beginning in early July, I will be delighted to facilitate a new Chai Mitzvah class: Critical Conversations. It will be held on the first Tuesday of each month, beginning July 2 and will continue for five sessions. Here is the link to register, I hope to see you there!

Beginning this fall, I will facilitate Because We Were Slaves: The Jewish Struggle for Justice in Making America Home. The title of the curriculum alludes to the daily Jewish commandment to remember that we were slaves in Egypt and therefore should never turn a blind eye to injustice. The materials focus on how Jewish people have dealt with their precarious position – sometimes accepted and sometimes not – as they endeavored to make America their home. In order to understand the broad experiences of Jewish struggle in the United States, one must also fully understand the begrudging acceptance Jews have experienced from the moment 23 Sephardic refugees arrived in New Amsterdam in 1654, to the present day challenges faced by the Jewish community. Please plan to join us for important conversations! More details to follow soon.

The goal of both classes is to foster meaningful conversation and ignite deeper insight and continued growth in our Jewish journeys. I hope many of you will keep a lookout for the beginning of each of these classes and consider joining us. Looking forward to seeing you there!