Tikkun Leil Shavuot 2019 / 5779, “Living and Learning with Vulnerability”
Saturday, June 8, 2019, Beth El Synagogue, 1004 Watts Street, Durham
7:00 pm Cheesecake and Coffee
7:45-8:45 pm “Heroes Who Limp” with Rabbi Sager
At dawn, the angel with whom Jacob wrestled through the night left him with a new name, and with a limp. We have kept the name, “Israel.” The ancient sages, however, applying their healing midrashic arts, quickly healed Jacob of his limp. Was it necessary, or even a good idea, to heal him?
9:00- 10:00 pm Singing and Havdallah with Rabbi Rebecca Schatz
“Growing up, each Friday night began with my dad announcing from the living room ‘ladies and gentlemen man your instruments.’ We would sing, play and celebrate Shabbat up until the last moments before candle lighting. This experience formed my connection between music and Judaism and has allowed my spiritual journey to be enraptured in song. Join me to learn, sing, listen and teach tunes that will shape our Shavuot experience.”
10:15-11:15 pm “Can the Torah Force us to Love the Stranger? Lessons from Megillat Ruth” with Rabbi Josh Pernick
The mitzvah to love the stranger is one of the most well-known, and frequently repeated, mitzvot in the Torah. Perhaps its frequent mention is partially a result of the Torah’s recognition of the challenge of loving the stranger dwelling in our land. We will explore the tension which has existed throughout Jewish history between welcoming the stranger and ensuring our own economic well-being through a deep dive into the central role that this tension plays in Megillat Ruth.
11:30 pm-12:30 am “The Story of a Rabbi Who Went to Vegas and Made it Home Again” with Rabbi Greyber
Where and with whom do we allow ourselves to be vulnerable? Where do we allow ourselves to go to learn Torah? Who can teach us?
Who Are Our Teachers?
Josh Pernick has been serving as the rabbinic intern of the Orthodox Kehillah for the past year. A graduate of Brandeis University for his BA (Sociology) and MAT (Elementary Education) degrees, as well as the Pardes Center for Jewish Educators’ year-long fellowship program, he was an early childhood and elementary school educator before beginning his rabbinic journey at Yeshivat Chovevei Torah rabbinical school. During his time at YCT, he served as the student rabbi of Congregation Shaarey Tphiloh in Portland, ME from 2016-18, and he was awarded a fellowship through the Crown Foundation for the 2017-18 school year to expand the impact of his community work in Portland, ME. For this past year, Josh was a fellow in the Hillel Office of Innovation’s Fellowship for Rabbinic Entrepreneurs, where he was trained to apply research in the field of entrepreneurship to his community-building work. Josh has also served as the rabbinic intern at Congregation Shaar Hashomayim in Montreal, and serves as a curricular consultant for the Global Day of Jewish Learning. He will be moving to New Orleans this summer, where he will serve as rabbi of Congregation Beth Israel in Metairie, LA.
Rabbi Rebecca Schatz, as of July 1st will be the Assistant Rabbi at Temple Beth Am in Los Angeles after having just moved on from being Assistant Rabbi and Education Director at Peninsula Sinai Congregation in Foster City, CA. Rabbi Schatz grew up in Los Angeles, attending Sinai Temple, Camp Ramah in California and most importantly great family friends with the Greybers. In May of 2017 Rabbi Schatz received smicha with a concentration in Halakha (Jewish Law) from the Ziegler School of Rabbinic Studies. Prior to her rabbinic ordination, she attended Indiana University’s Jacobs School of Music and received a Bachelor in Choral Music Education and then went on to the Fingerhut School of Education where she received her Masters in Experiential Ed. Rabbi Schatz is blessed to be here in Rabbi Dan’s community, celebrating together through music and learning, two valuable skills that she learned with him as a mentor and Rabbi.
