Elana Sztokman

Inbal Gal is one of the most amazing women I have ever met. She has sage wisdom and spiritual insight way beyond her years. She brings kindness, compassion, and enormous love and care to all her work. I've been doing meditation and guided imagery with her for four years now, and her beautiful spirit has profoundly impacted my life. With the start of the new year, Inbal has just opened a new meditation group on Tuesday nights in Modi'in -- "Ragu'a b'emtza ha'shavua" -- and I highly, highly recommend it. Tonight she is doing a special session for Sukkot. Tuesdays at 8:30 PM at Yizhak Rabin 49, apt 3. Cost: 25 NIS per session. Spread the word! For more information, call Inbal at 054-520-5019 Read the rest of this entry →

I have never heard a rendition of Netane Tokef, that dramatic apex of the Rosh Hashana service, quite like this one. Officially, in order to abide the strictest rules of halakha the hazzan was Avi Gilboa, a professor of music therapy from an incredibly talented musical family who has a soft, gentle voice and practiced skill. Only Avi said the formal blessings and technically the congregation only answered “amen” to him, the man. In practice, Avi was joined in harmony by his wife, Tzurit, an incredible soprano who, I was astounded to learn, has no formal musical training yet sings with a precision, range, and purity of sound, reminiscent of Linda Ronstadt’s rendition of Mabel’s high-pitched aria in the Pirates of Penzance. It’s that kind of singing to the skies, reaching those glorious places in the musical heavens, the kind of singing that leaves your knees weak. Together, Avi and Tzurit stood at the bimah, he on the men’s side of the partition and she on the woman’s side, and led the distinctive mussaf service with such sweet, joyous, melodic harmony expressing the soulfulness of the service that simply took my breath away. Read the rest of this entry →

In today's YnetTomorrow morning, as my youngest child starts first grade, I am doing what perhaps I should have done long ago: I’m taking my child to the farm. She will be spending her school days at the Ecological Farm in Modi’in, the first class in a fledgling experimental school called “Ma’ayan,” literally, “spring.” There, in a house made of clay and recycled materials in which the toilets do not flush but their contents are re-entered into the ground, where a goat my daughter fell in love with named Maya gave birth last year to twins “Rami” and “Levi”, where the surrounding sounds are not of cars honking and teachers yelling but of mules, chickens and dogs communicating, where young adults come from all over Israel to work as organic farmers – this is where my five year old child is beginning her formal schooling. Read the rest of this entry →

The following article, published in the current issue of The Journal of Jewish Education, explores the difference between education for Orthodox religiousness and education for spirituality. The article, based on bits of my doctoral research, argues that the dogmatic, linear, "you're either in or out" approach that characterizes much of Orthodox education, does not leave much room for spirituality. So often, religiousness is instilled as an end product, a monolithic corpus of ideas to be singularly transmitted and subsequently owned by youth. In reality, though, youth are thirsting for opportunities to grapple, question, and wrestle with profound theological and philosophical issues—a process that ultimately leads to a richer religious identity. Spirituality amid dogma? Some approaches to educating for religious belief within in a State-Religious school in Israel :

I like being religious. But sometimes, I hate the way the rabbis preach things. I like to see what’s written, the Mishna, the Gemara, the Torah…and to do what they tell me. But I hate that the rabbis philosophize all the time. I don’t go to any rabbis or anything, I don’t like all that rubbish…. but I am religious the way I think I should be. (Tamar, 14).

When a pagan came to Hillel and demanded to be taught the entire Torah on one foot, Hillel did not kick him out but said simply, "What you do not want others to do to you, do not do to others. The rest is commentary." Hillel was not being cute, flippant, or evasive, but stating a profound truth that reflects the essence of the Divine. According to religion scholar Karen Armstrong, whose books include The History of God, The Spiral Staircase, and twenty other must-reads on religion, history and society, all religions of the world have at their core this truth: that to reach God, one must live a compassionate life -- proactively, passionately, and profoundly. Compassion is not weakness, nor is it passive or ambivalent. Compassion is powerful, activist, and potentially world-changing. Here in this inspiring and provocative video, this former nun who once swore off religion argues that religion can bring world peace. She articulates more than any rabbi I have ever heard the most profound spiritual truths of the universe. Karen Armstrong: Charter for Compassion Read the rest of this entry →

The Jewish world lost a gem last week. Dr. Aryeh Geiger, founder of the pioneering Reut School in Jerusalem, founder of Ometz Hinuchi for principal independence, creator of the Gidonim project for the renewal of Eastern European Jewish cemeteries, died last week after a long and uphill battle with cancer. But his long list of amazing achievements does not capture what made him truly great. His greatness was who he was as a person. Aryeh Geiger embodied kindness and care as an entire world view. He built relationships and institutions on the same principle of spirituality as human connection. He never veered from these unwavering beliefs, and dedicated every ounce of his life to transmitting this love for humankind. I had the privilege of interviewing Aryeh Geiger last year, right after he called a meeting of the staff, students, and parents in Reut, to announce to the community that he was stepping down due to his illness. "I am lucky to be able to prepare for my departure from the community," he said with tragic calmness. This was a man for whom life and death formed a challenge and an opportunity. I'm reprinting the interview below from Jewish Educational Leadership. May his memory be a blessing. It already is. Read the rest of this entry →

Here's a fantastic anecdote from my friend Reuven Lerner about how kids do prayer:

I used to take my daughter, Atara, to children's services every Shabbat, which I led. But somewhere around her fifth birthday, she lost all interest. But recently, she came back from camp and said she loved the prayers there. I asked her, 'What can I do to make the children's services on Shabbat better?' She laughed at me and said, 'Abba, you can't! You don't know how to play guitar!' It reminds me of the famous story from Camp Ramah lore: A child comes home from camp, and on the first Saturday night at home, the parents say, 'Let's say havdallah.' The kids replies, 'You can't - we don't have a lake!'

The announcement by Education Committee Chair Michael Melchior that that the State of Israel is opening a new stream of education – neither State nor State Religious but sort of “Jewish value-oriented” – is the kind of news that has the potential to change Israeli society. I’m not being melodramatic. It’s really true. Finally, the majority of Israelis who are ill-defined and uncomfortable in the way they are identified from the age of four may yet have some reprieve. The government is saying to them, NO, you’re not all crazy, all three million of you. We are going to help you fit in. Read the rest of this entry →

When my fifteen-year old daughter, Avigayil, came home with detention for skipping morning prayer, I was devastated. It wasn’t just that in her pluralistic community school, where there are supposedly choices for everyone, I did not think detention for missing prayer was a possibility. It was not just that the angry note from the principal came without warning, without even a prior phone conversation to discuss my daughter’s spirituality or attendance record. What shocked me most was the newfound knowledge that Avigayil had no interest in prayer at school. If the people of our synagogue got wind of this, I thought, they would undoubtedly say, the principal must have the wrong kid. Read the rest of this entry →