Looking for Jewish Connections: Chavurah and Contributions

Last week I wrote about the iphone and prayer and learned that there is indeed Tanahk for All available through the itunes app store. I also did a small experiment and simply shut off my electronics for Shabbat. I enjoyed tremendous peace but was pretty much," land locked," since I was on call to the Hospital's Labor and Delivery floor, I needed to be near a phone. There were no beeps, blings, whirls or melodies emitting from any device: it was so NICE! Oh yes, there was one beautiful little girl born, but on Sunday.

This week we are studying about modern Chavurah in the mobile age. Chavurah comes from the root chaver, and can mean peer, friend or fellowship. The plural form is chavurot. Traditional style Chavruta ("paired") learning usally occurs in a Yeshiva, or similar setting where students challenge each other to analyze, explore and explain material that they are studying before a class.  It occurs at long tables in a large learning hall , where the Chavruta pairs are all simultaneously pointing out perceived errors in the partners' reasoning and each student is trying to help the other come to a better understanding of the traditional texts. Quite a lively place these learning halls! I am not sure how each pair can focus and drown out all of the other conversations, since I do my best thinking at 3 am in the quiet of the night :-) But it seems to be a learning system that has stood the test of time.


Since the 1970's  Chavurot typically decribe people who meet on a regular basis to study or celebrate Jewish life cycle events together.  My wiki search this morning ( http://wikipedia.org/ ) brought me to this statement about the emphasis of Chavurot." Most chavurot place an emphasis on egalitarianism in the broad sense (of which gender is one piece) depending on participation by the entire community rather than top-down direction by clergy." Much in the spirit of this definition, I would define our Forum posts and discussions for each of our Gratz On-Line classes. We have the luxury of peace and quiet by which to focus our thoughts and form logical cohesive arguments without other students shouting their point of view just a few feet away from us. Ideally, we each post and respond to one another and help each other better understand the course material and perhaps attain new insights. Ideally we connect to each other and make contributions to each other's learning.

How else can we make adult learning connections, contributions and become part of Chavurot in the 21st century? There are so many wonderful opportunities both real and virtual! Here are just a few ideas I've uncovered: Adult camp! Yes Summer camp! Go to http://www.havurah.org/ The National Havurah Committee is offering a program Aug 5, 2013 - Aug 11, 2013 in New Hampshire... study, prayer, "spirited conversations," and hiking!  Another idea is to join a chavurah, find one at http://chavurah.com/ . They even offer a guide to starting your own Chavurah.  For more ideas check out  http://Torah.org/ .  If you like the radio there is Radio Chavura with learning programming every Sunday at 1830 hrs (990 KRKS AM in Denver).

Finally, I realize that this last suggestion isn't very technical, not cloud based and doesn't require a single piece of digital software , but it is still very relevant in the 21st Century: Go to your local Temple. There are like minded individuals, there are peers who can challenge your perceptions, help you participate more fully in (Jewish)life and help find ways to repair the world. And you don't have to do it yourself at 3 in the morning.

Shavua Tov

Making space for Technology & making a sacred place to live without it...

In my last blog post I discussed using the iphone to help facilitate my tefillah connection with Ha Shem and my "Community". This has had me thinking about the wonderful uses of technology in our daily life. There are so many things I do daily as a Physician and as a Mom that depend on using these tools. I make entries in patient records, check lab results, even look at Labor tracings from the screen that I am closest to at the particular moment when I  want or need to. I have daily reminders of when to pick up my DD and where (assuredly a good thing) , appointments, meetings, a running and an ever growing "to do list." I use the iphone app to guide my prayers, even though I mostly remember them by heart, and to read the daily Parsha as I said previously. I use educational apps with my DD this summer to keep her sharp and help her learn to read and practice her phonics with me while we are out to occupy her. She will even practice drawing her Aleph/ Bet using the app: she thinks its a game. ( itunes app store: WAGmob, Learn Hebrew Writing for those of you who are interested) I think I am so sneaky , getting her to practice without telling her to do it.

Overall, most days I think I am pretty good at most of my jobs. Well all of them but one lately and that is what this post is really about. WE ARE SO CONCERNED WITH MAKING SPACE FOR TECHNOLOGY IN OUR LIVES THAT WE AREN'T VERY GOOD AT MAKING A SACRED PLACE TO LIVE WITHOUT IT.

For example, Today when I am stuck waiting with my DD, I give her an electronic device to "occupy" her. She gets to watch Mommy approved TV in the car, or play on my ipad. When I was a kid and we had to wait somewhere and had no crayons with us, or books, or homework to do, I sang with and without the radio, or made up funny jokes or talked non-stop ( I am sure to my Parents' delight -NOT). A lot of times I would just fight with my brother to have something to do! Quite a typical kid. Eventually I would wind down. Most of us had the same growing up experience. That is how most of us learned to find that still, quiet place inside of us. Now, how do we spontaneously re-teach ourselves and our children to find that sacred place without all of the outside "connectivity" that we are so dependent on?

It is simple: TURN EVERYTHING OFF(once in awhile, what would it hurt?)I will compare this to  the onset of a thunder storm and the quiet that ensues afterwards. Waves of technology are much like thunder. They beep at us, vibrate us and jolt us to full consciousness, even from a sound sleep.

In my net surfing, yes between patients, I looked for  Jewish teachings about thunder and quiet, and I came across this story:  www.chabad.org/kids/article_cdo/aid/2038/jewish/The-Story-of-Shavuot/     In this story of Shavuot, "Thunder and lightning rent the air and the sound of the shofar was heard growing strangely louder and louder. All the people in the camp of Israel trembled. Then all was quiet again. The air was very still. Not a sound was to be heard. Every living thing held its breath. Even the angels interrupted their heavenly praises. Everybody and everything kept silent...waiting."

So for today, although I have no tips for finding that sacred quiet place, I am going to try on just one day to turn everything off, in ,on and around me and wait...

Is it better to engage with words of Torah on Shabbos on the iphone vs not at all?

Today marks the beginning of my life in the fast lane of technology: I have an assignment to become a blogger for my Technology in Jewish Education class from Gratz College! I have also been given a mission. So for those of you who don't know me well, I will start by saying that I am an OB/GYN in private practice in Florida. My iphone lives in or on my person just about 24/7. I spend lots of sleepless nights... many days I sing prayers in the car (through the bluetooth connection to my iphone)on the way to a delivery or emergency, or coming home from one, or the office. Oh yes, I am also a modern day Mom. So add to that schlepping my DD to and from school and activities, homework, "quality time", etc.  I have a black Lab puppy and a partner: there is never a dull moment.

I participate in a weekly Torah study with a great group of mostly women (once in awhile a male Pastor and a Husband or two,) led by our wonderful Cantor, who BTW, sings like an angel, and other than taking DD to Religious School (she is 6) I seldom make it to my Temple. It is sad because I love the sense of community I feel when there ( our Rabbi says He wants us to think of it as our second home and I do in many ways)and always leave with a pearl or two to help me live my life in a more integrated and Jewish way.

Over the past couple of years I probably have visited as many Jewish themed sites as there are on the net.I have an iT'filah program loaded on my iphone so I can Daven anywhere and anytime. I haven't yet looked for the iTanakh, but I will. I also recieve the weekly Parsha through two different sources as well as a children's version from another source. I READ THEM FROM MY IPHONE. I DON"T BELIEVE THAT THIS ACT DECREASES THE SANCTITY OF THE TEXT. Even the prayer we recite before studying these texts encourages us, in any way that is appropriate. We engage with the words of the Torah.

In this century engaging has to be accessible (check), beneficial (check), cost effective(remains to be seen), and easy to use(check): the iphone is on me 24/7 remember? We are part of a community who is also engaging with these words, even if we are not in the same physical space or at the same moment in time. The URJ's epublication V'Shinantam (the Union for Reform Judaism National Teacher's Newsletter) No II, 5763 speaks about our comfort learning with different tools. Using the iphone is a tool. Just a tool.  The text, if treated appropriately, can be studied anywhere really. And just as sacredly :-)