Wed. - Sukkah building, Thurs. - decorating (9/30, 10/1)

Now is the time to build and beautify, as we transition from the time of introspection to the joy of harvesting and community.

WEDNESDAY (Sept 30)
4pm - 7pm

We'll raise the Sukkah (mostly big nuts & bolts, pretty much hammer-free)


THURSDAY (OCT 1)
4pm - 7pm

We'll put up the panda-leftovers (bamboo) for schach, and
decorate the Sukkah (hang stuff from the rafters, attach tapestries, string lights)
---

No experience necessary!
Hope to see you there.

----------
The Details:

At the home of Deborah Hittleman Flank and Shalom Flank. For directions, check your Zoo mail, or email info@ZooMinyan.org


Chag Sameach!

Sweet Shabbat Shuva - Sept. 26

Shana Tovah!

Every year there are seven days between the end of Rosh Hashana and the beginning of Yom Kippur. Not surprisingly, the seven days are spread out across all the days of the week. We thus have the opportunity to make Teshuva for each day -- where did we fall short on Tuesday's during this past year? How did we let Sunday's be some much less than they could have been? What insults against Wednesday's did we wreak, intentionally or otherwise?

We have the chance, instead, to return each day of the week to its full self -- or really, to our full selves. And most of all, on Shabbat Shuva, we have the chance to return to Shabbat. Whatever we may have missed on Shabbatot during the past year, we can create some of it this Shabbos. Want a little more singing on Shabbos this year? Want to be with friends more? Do a little more learning? Take on more of a role in leading or leyning or organizing? This Shabbat of Returning is the shabbos to do a little more, be a little more.

So come celebrate Shabbat together as we each move towards the "me" we want to be.

-----

We'll be gathering for davenning, lunch, shmoozing, singing, etc., this Saturday in Woodley Park (within walking distance of the Zoo, as is Zoo Minyan custom) at Deborah and Shalom's house.

Volunteers still sought for Zoo Minyan veggies, davenning treats (i.e. Kavanot or creative tidbits, not actual food ;) also Torah Transporter, and davening leaders – write back to info@ZooMinyan.org.

If you'd like to Leyn there are several short aliyot this time...use the self-service leyning spreadsheet to sign up, or email leyning@ZooMinyan.org.


The Details:

Zoo Minyan
This Saturday, Shabbat Shuva, 26 Sept.
10am sharp, with a sweet as honey Psukei d'Zimrah
Pot-luck dairy/veggie lunch -- main courses especially appreciated

At the home of Deborah Hittleman Flank and Shalom Flank. For directions, check your Zoo mail, or email info@ZooMinyan.org

Shana Tovah Tikatavnah v'Taychatamna
and Tikateivu v'Taychateimu!

Fri. night Zoo Minyan Sept 11, + coming soon

UPDATE: We're at Maya's house!  Details below.

Welcome to Elul, a thoughtful time of reflection, anticipation, and accounting. Come bring your spirit, soul, thoughts, Kavannah/intention -and of course your Neshama Yetayra, that fabulous extra soul you gain each week to celebrate Shabbat.

We'll have spirited songful Davening and delicious dinner (catered entrees from Sienna's). This week we'll be in Cleveland Park (though the real estate agents call it Garfield Park), at the home of Maya Bernstein.   We're seeking davenning leaders, and there's always room for davenning treats, special niggunim, etc., just write back to Fridays@ZooMinyan.org to volunteer.

Please make a donation toward dinner and/or bring a potluck contribution (veggie/dairy) -- details below.

But first, COMING SOON:

!!! NEXT ZOO -------
Zoo Minyan will meet Shabbat Shuva --the Shabbat between Rosh HaShana and Yom Kippur-- Saturday morning, September 26th.
Grab your leyning slot now, at www.TinyURL.com/Leyning. (Note: also HAFTORAH opportunity)

!!! SUKKAH BUILDING -------
SEPT 30: The Wednesday after Yom Kippur we'll raise the Sukkah (mostly big nuts & bolts, pretty much hammer-free -- plus panda-leftovers for schach) 4pm - 7pm
OCT 1: Then Thursday we'll decorate the Sukkah (hang stuff from the rafters, attach tapestries, string lights) 4pm-7-pm
----------

SHABBAT
The Details:
This Friday night, Sept 11
Shmoozing plus set-up: 6:30pm
Rockin' Kabbalat Shabbat -- 7:00pm sharp!
Followed by Ma'ariv, dinner, singing, drashing, more shmoozing....

At the home of Maya Bernstein

(not downstairs in the party room, as for so many other events that Maya has graciously hosted, but actually in her apartment -- we rate!)

For directions, check your Zoo mail, or email info@ZooMinyan.org.

ABOUT DINNER (it's not just a pot-luck!)

We will have main courses from Siena's! Kosher, lots of dairy plus at least one non-dairy option, all veggie, and all yummy! Vegetable lasagna, eggplant parmesan -- send in your requests

For shabbat dinner, the community provides some hearty entrees. You can:

1. Contribute to the kitty to help pay for the entree AND / OR
   
2. Bring a side dish, salad, drink, or desert as a dairy / veggie pot-luck contribution.
   

Don't worry about whether your kitchen is kosher (or “kosher enough”), everyone gets to contribute. But please be prepared to explain what's in your dish, to help people avoid allergy or kashrut issues.

If you're worried about whether you'll be able to eat at Zoo Minyan, there is always a critical mass of pot-luck contributions with a heksher or cooked in someone's heksher-only kitchen. There are always hekshered challot and grape juice, plus the entree is hekshered. And you'll get to know people as you ask who brought which dish. Questions? Ideas? Want to help? Need the address or directions? Write back to Fridays@ZooMinyan.org. Shabbos is coming!

-------

For more FRIDAY NIGHT INFO, get all the details here. And for all the upcoming Friday night dates (through Feb.), check the Zoo Minyan Google calendar (yep, it's there, just to your left, top of the page).

Sat. Aug. 22 - w/ special 'Labor on the Bimah' learning over lunch

Can't you just hear the Shofar blowing? It's a call to prayer!

We'll be gathering for davenning, lunch, shmoozing, and a special
"Labor on the Bimah" drash during lunch, all this Saturday in Woodley
Park at Deborah and Shalom's house. (details below)

Howard's "Labor on the Bimah" learning during lunch (even though we
don't have a bimah) is one of many events sparked by Jews United for
Justice (JUFJ), leading up to Labor Day. (JUFJ "Labor on the Bimah" events)

Volunteers still sought for Zoo Minyan veggies, davenning treats (i.e.
Kavanot or creative tidbit, perhaps from Summer Institute) also Torah
Transporter, and davening leaders – write back to info@ZooMinyan.org.

There are still short Aliyot available if you'd like to Leyn, (see 2, 3, & 4) - please use the self-service leyning spreadsheet.


Check for Drash-blogging and keep an eye on our Google calendar (Fall
dates will be posted soon) at our new-ish website: www.ZooMinyan.org

Community Announcement:
There's a light brunch this Sunday, August 23, for Kibbutz Hannaton, a
renewed community and educational center, in a beautiful setting in
the Galilee, where diverse, committed young Jews are working to claim
Israel's future by living and teaching the ideals of Pluralism,
Spirituality, Social Justice, Environmentalism, and Peace and
Reconciliation, all in the context of rigorous text study. For more
info, click here.

Now, back to Shabbat...
------------------------------
The Details:

Zoo Minyan
This Saturday, Shoftim, 22 Aug.
10am sharp, with a melodious Psukei d'Zimrah
Pot-luck dairy/veggie lunch -- main courses especially appreciated

At the home of Deborah Hittleman Flank and Shalom Flank. For directions, check your Zoo mail, or email info@ZooMinyan.org

Welcome to Elul, and
Shabbat Shalom!

Kibbutz Hannaton (this Sunday)

James and Debbie Jacobson-Maisels write in:

Kibbutz Hannaton is a renewed community and educational center, in a beautiful setting in the Galilee, where diverse, committed young Jews are working to claim Israel's future by living and teaching the ideals of Pluralism, Spirituality, Social Justice, Environmentalism, and Peace and Reconciliation, all in the context of rigorous text study. Our programs will include full time beit midrash study, spiritual retreats, seminars, and internships which engage our core values. Along with a group of passionate rabbis and educators from multiple denominations, our goal is to engage contemporary Jews with a meaningful, open, ethical and transformative Judaism. 

We would love to share our vision for new center with you and invite you all to partner with us in making this dream a reality. We are seeking your support – both financial and in any other way you can - to be part of our endeavor to strengthen the spiritual future of Israel.

Please join us for a light brunch this Sunday August 23rd , at 10am at the home of Shalom Flank and Deborah Hittleman Flank (write to Hannaton@ZooMinyan.org for address or directions), where we will share more extensively the vision and reality of Hannaton and engage together in the kind of meaningful Jewish learning which is our mission. Please feel free to pass this invitation onto friends and colleagues who are interested in supporting pluralistic Judaism, Jewish learning, Jewish spirituality or Israel and looking for new ways to get involved.

Please RSVP to James at jamesmoshejm@gmail.com. We are looking forward to seeing you all and updating you on our new project. 

Brachot, 

James and Debbie

 
Rabbi James Jacobson-Maisels

Debbie Jacobson-Maisels

Back home

Good shabbos!  Zoo Minyan was well represented at the Havurah Summer Institute last week.  Lots of ruach, new melodies, and new friends should animate the davenning back here in DC -- at TLS tonight and at Zoo Minyan next shabbos.

We'll be meeting for shabbat morning davenning next week, August 22nd.  Details to follow in next week's Zoo Mail -- but you can sign up now to bring some davenning treats home from the Institute (or from anywhere else), or for leyning, davenning, hosting, torah schlepping (such holy schelpping!), Zoo Minyan Veggies etc.  Just write back to info@ZooMinyan.org

Don't forget to check www.ZooMinyan.org for the latest updates.  There's a new drash for tomorrow's Shabbos Mevarchin, you can add Zoo Minyan to your Google Calendar, sign up for an automatic (RSS) feed, find out the name of Becca & Michael's beautiful daugther, sign up for leyning, and lots more.  We're also thinking about adding niggunim to the website -- anyone want to help?

Last but not least, the returning Zoo Minyanaires brought home brand new copies of Siddur Birkat Shalom!  If you would like to purchase your very own (at cost -- with updated grammar, a better binding, and infused with all the latest kavanah), write back to siddur@ZooMinyan.org

Birkat ha-Chodesh for Elul

Tonight is Shabbos Mevarchin for Elul, kicking off the yontiff season.  During Birkat ha-Chodesh, you may hear the haunting nusach of yamim noraim.  It's a bit shocking, here in the midst of August, still during the month of Av, to be transported for a few seconds into the middle of Erev Rosh Hashanah -- which is surely the intent.  

And in a few days (this coming Friday morning, in fact), it will be the first day of Elul.  At the end of Rosh Chodesh davenning, not only do we begin the yontiff pracitce of adding Psalm 27, but you may get to hear the season's first blasts of the shofar.

So what do we mean by shabbos "mervachin", and what might it mean for this approaching season?  Literally, we just mean the shabbos when we bless the upcoming new month (i.e., recite Brikat ha-Chodesh (link) while holding the sefer torah).  Small problem though -- there's no actual bracha in Birkat ha-Chodesh.  Neither of the Baruch Ata nor the Brucha At variety.  It there's no extra bracha, why call it the "Shabbos that is blessed"?  And who's doing the blessing or getting blessed here?  The month herself?  The Sh"tz holding the sefer torah?  All of us reciting the Birkat ha-Chodesh?

One interpretation: For most months, Shabbos Mevarchin is about giving and receiving the blessing of "chodesh" -- which means both "new" and month.  When we recite the Birkat ha-Chodesh, we bless the project of "re-newal" that we collectively pledge to undertake in the coming month.

But Tishrei doesn't get a Birkat ha-Chodesh, nor a Rosh Chodesh, but instead a Rosh Hashana.  So the blessing for Elul has to cover Tishrei as well, a blessing of "shana" -- which means both "change" and year, may it be a good and sweet one.  When we recite the Birkat ha-Chodesh tomorrow, we bless the project of change that we collectively pledge to undertake in the coming holiday season.

May we be blessed this yontiff, to offer, be a conduit for, and receive overflowing blessings of change for all of us.

Mazel Tov! (this Sunday)

Mike Wenthe writes in:

I am very happy to announce that on Monday, July 27, Rebecca Boggs gave birth to a healthy baby girl. Mother and daughter are both doing well. (Dad is okay, too.) As of yet, the child has not officially been named, though she has heretofore been known as "the critter" and Juniorina...

But a formal naming ceremony will be held this Sunday, August 2, starting at 2:30 P.M. at Adas Israel Congregation, 2850 Quebec Street NW, Washington, DC (just around the corner from the Cleveland Park Metro, Red Line).

You are most welcome to join us for the event, at which we will reveal our daughter's names and some of the thinking behind the choices thereof. Also, it being a Jewish event, we will eat: probably a buffet of pastries, bagels, fish, fruit, and vegetables, with coffee and tea available, and some bourbon to honor the child's Kentucky heritage.

Best wishes to all,
--Mike

P.S.  Welcome to the world, Shira Rose Boggs Wenthe!

The Voices of Eicha

(suggested by Rabbi Chuck Feinberg)

Who speaks in the Scroll of Lamentations?

Many voices:

• The witness: I've seen such terrible things
  
• The community: How could this happen to us
  
• The survivor: Woe is me!
  
• The angry victim: It's all the fault of our leaders
  
• The narrator: Look at how bad things have gotten
  

On Tishe b'Av, the daled amot of torah (literally “four paces of the law” -- the breathing room for learning torah, a defined space that is nonetheless big enough to move around) shrinks to Megillat Eicha and a handful of other passages. So it makes sense to spend a little extra time pondering a text that is unpleasant and often ignored the rest of the year.

1:1 to 1:10 – The Narrator
1:11 to 1:22 – The Survivor

2:1 to 2:10 – The Narrator
2:11 to 2:22 – The Witness

3:1 to 3:66 – The Survivor
(3:40 to 3:47 – The Community)

4:1 to 4:10 – The Witness
4:11 to 4:16 – The Angry Victim
4:17 to 4:20 – The Community

5:1 to 5:22 – The Community

One voice is completely absent. Though it fills most of the books of the prophets – namely, the voice of the prophet – we never find the people of Israel referred to in the 2nd person: You, Israel, have been laid low, got what you deserved, will yet see redemption, etc., etc.  

Another voice is so expected, yet so sparse, as to cry out in its absence – the voice of prayer. How rarely we ask, on Tishe b'Av, for God to make things better!

What do we ask ha-Shem to do? In many places, we ask ha-Shem to see, to hear, to listen, to behold, to remember – but not to act. Only to acknowledge our existence and our suffering. And we never use the “jussive” voice, may God cause such-and-such to happen, as in, “ha-Shem oz l'amah titen, ha-Shem tivarech et olamah va-shalom” (May ha-Shem bring about strength for Her people, may ha-Shem cause peace to bless Her world)

Our actual requests of ha-Shem are appear to be quite limited:

• 1:22 – Wreak the same misery on my foes as you did upon me
  
• 3:64-66 – Pursue my foes in anger and destroy them 
  
• And the famous second-to-last verse (5:21) – Return us to You, Renew our days as of old
  

What can we conclude from this accounting of the voices present and absent in Eichah? It is an unusual text, because our relationship with ha-Shem and with the future is so blunted. We don't ask ha-Shem to make things better. We just acknowledge, and ask ha-Shem to acknowledge, how miserable everything is.  

That's not a bad description of the function of Tishe b'Av itself. We're not trying to rouse ourselves to teshuvah, as if this were Yom Kippur. Or to tell ourselves of the miracles that ended the misery, as if this were Pesach. We're not even trying to get drunk and forget how bad it was, as if this were Purim. We're just here, permitting ourselves to see, opening our eyes and hearts to just how bad it can get. It's the one day of the year we force ourselves, not to try to make things better, but instead, simply to not turn away.

The last Fri. night Zoo Minyan of summer - July 24

Come for a beautiful evening!

This is our last Fri. night Zoo Minyan of the summer, as we're on an "every 6 weeks" schedule for Fri nights. (By the time the next one rolls around it will be almost the Chaggim!) So come for sweet summer Erev Shabbat.

We'll have spirited songful Davening and delicious dinner (catered entrees from Sienna's). This week we'll be in Woodley Park, at the home of Deborah & Shalom. We're still seeking davenning leaders, and there's always room for davenning treats, special niggunim, etc., just write back to Fridays@ZooMinyan.org to volunteer.

Please make a donation toward dinner and/or bring a potluck contribution (veggie/dairy) -- details below.

The Details:
This Friday night, July 24th
Shmoozing plus set-up: 6:30pm
Rockin' Kabbalat Shabbat -- 7:00pm sharp!
Followed by Ma'ariv, dinner, singing, drashing, more shmoozing....

At the home of Deborah Hittleman Flank and Shalom Flank. For directions, check your Zoo mail, or email per below.

+++ ABOUT DINNER (it's not just a pot-luck!)

We will have main courses from Siena's! Kosher, lots of dairy plus at
least one non-dairy option, all veggie, and all yummy! Vegetable
lasagna, eggplant parmesan -- send in your requests

For shabbat dinner, the community provides some hearty entrees. You
can:
1) Contribute to the kitty to help pay for the entree
AND / OR
2) Bring a side dish, salad, drink, or desert as a dairy / veggie pot-luck contribution.

Don't worry about whether your kitchen is kosher (or “kosher enough”), everyone gets to contribute. But please be prepared to explain what's in your dish, to help people avoid allergy or kashrut issues.

If you're worried about whether you'll be able to eat at Zoo Minyan, there is always a critical mass of pot-luck contributions with a heksher or cooked in someone's heksher-only kitchen. There are always hekshered challot and grape juice, plus the entree is hekshered. And you'll get to know people as you ask who brought which dish. Questions? Ideas? Want to help? Need the address or directions? Write back to Fridays@ZooMinyan.org. Shabbos is coming!

!!! NEXT ZOO -------
And the next time Zoo Minyan meets will be Shabbat Shoftim --right after Rosh Chodesh Elul-- Saturday morning, August 22nd, when folks have returned from NHC Summer Institute. Grab your leyning slot early, at www.TinyURL.com/Leyning
-------

For more FRIDAY NIGHT INFO, get all the details here. And for all the upcoming Friday night dates (through September), check the Zoo Minyan Google calendar.

Changed August date to: Aug 22nd

Greetings Zoo Minyanites,
after some discussion, the date for the August Zoo Minyan has been changed (due to a Bar Mitzvah in the greater community).

We will now be meeting on Sat. Aug. 22.
------

Please adjust your calendars. The Zoo Minyan Google calendar has been updated - and if you are a Google Calendar person, feel free to add the Zoo Minyan Events calendar to your view.

Shavua Tov.

Good ol' fashioned Sat. at Zoo Minyan - July 11th

We'll be gathering for davenning, lunch, shmoozing, singing, etc., this Saturday in Woodley Park at Deborah and Shalom's house.

Volunteers still sought for Zoo Minyan veggies, davenning treats (i.e. Kavanot or creative tidbits, not actual food ;) also Torah Transporter, and davening leaders – write back to info@ZooMinyan.org.

If you'd like to Leyn there's one aliyah left (Revii)...use the self-service leyning spreadsheet to sign up, or email leyning@ZooMinyan.org.


The Details:

Zoo Minyan
This Saturday, Pinchas, 11 July
10am sharp, with a joyous Psukei d'Zimrah
Pot-luck dairy/veggie lunch -- main courses especially appreciated

At the home of Deborah Hittleman Flank and Shalom Flank. For directions, check your Zoo mail, or email info@ZooMinyan.org

Shabbat Shalom, hey!

July 11th - coming soon

Shabbos is coming!

Reb Deb here with a brief reminder that Zoo Minyan will be meeting next week, Parshat Pinchas, July 11th.

(I kinda' wish it was this week so i could drash on Parshat Balak, and use my famous utterance from a Tish preceding a wedding ceremony, where i had the opportunity to shout as the groom spoke about Balak & Balaam, "Tell us about your as&!" (referring to the talking donkey, not groom's backside of course!) Oy!

So, re: Pinchas, come bring your thoughts on Brit Shalom, or on continuity or succession (Joshua & Moses). Or just come for the Ruach and the singing ;)

Leyners, davenners, davenning treats, Zoo Minyan veggies, torah schlepping-- it's all yours for the asking. Just write back to info@ZooMinyan.org. Or for leyning, head to tinyurl.com/leyning to claim your slot.

(location Details in your next Zoo Mail)

Shabbat Shalom!
zoominyan.org

**Afternoon** Sat. June 27 - Seudah Shlisheet / Minchah

Zoo Minyan Sat. **afternoon**
for
summertime Seudah Shlisheet!

Something for everyone -- eating, singing,
brief davenning / leyning, a little learning
---
(We've taken two items as a sign - not a lot of Leyners signed up this week, and there's a farewell Community Lunch for Cherrie Daniels & Jeff Fistel (moving to Oslo - she's a diplomat!) in a nearby party room (see Adas Trad Egal Minyan for details if you're interested.)
Now back to Zoo Minyan...
-----------------------------

The Details:

Zoo Minyan
Saturday, SEUDAH SHLISHEET, 27 June
**5pm**, niggunim, noshing, & Minchah
Pot-luck dairy/veggie supper

Last minute volunteers for davenning and davenning treats are all welcome, just write back to info@ZooMinyan.org

At the home of Deborah Hittleman Flank and Shalom Flank in Woodley Park.
For directions, check your Zoo Mail, or write to info@ZooMinyan.org.

-----------------

And don't forget to mark your calendars for the fast approaching July 11th Zoo Minyan (Sat.). Grab your leyning slot early, at www.TinyURL.com/Leyning

For more FRIDAY NIGHT INFO, get all the details here. Next Fri night Zoo Minyan - July 24th. And for all the upcoming Friday night dates (through September -- can you believe it?), check the Zoo Minyan Google calendar.

Fri night June 19th - Cleveland Park

Zoo Minyan davenning in the Miller -&- Potluck at Stefan's (Under the Stars)!

'Tis a shabbos for diversity within community. Those who participated
in sunrise services on Shavuot experienced first-hand the ruach of
many Minyanim davenning together.

This week Zoo Minyan will be davenning together with Ruach Minyan
(which started as Van Ness Minyan, and is now housed and blossoming at
Adas Israel). Afterwords we will have a joint potluck in the building
next door, at the home of Stefan. Rumor has it, he'll be hosting us
outside under the stars.

Speaking of Under the Stars -- Zoo Minyan cordially invites people to
mix-and-match davenning and dinner with the broader Adas Israel
community's "Shabbat Under the Stars" (http://adasisrael.org/
newsletter/KesherIshi_ThisWeek.htm#stars), the one-year anniversary of
Rabbi Gil Steinlauf's arrival in our community.
If the early 6:15 dinner doesn't match your schedule, join Rabbi
Steinlauf for davenning on Adas's front porch at 7:30, then come down
to Zoo / Ruach at Stefan's for a pot-luck dinner 8:30ish *after*
davenning. If dinner with the Adas community is appealing, but you
prefer a shomer shabbos space for davenning (no instruments), and/or
nusach shivyoni, then come join us in Adas' Miller Chapel at 7pm.

So come enjoy the cool evening, and see old friends and new friends.

We'll have spirited songful Davenning (in Zoo Minyan Nusach Shivyoni -
adapted language) and delicious dinner. We're still seeking davenning
leaders, and there's always room for davenning treats, special
niggunim, etc., just write back to
Fridays@ZooMinyan.org to volunteer.

NOTE: there will not be catering from Sienna's this week. Please bring
a potluck contribution (veggie/dairy) -- details below.

The Details:
This Friday night, June 19th
Rockin' Kabbalat Shabbat -- 7pm sharp!
----> Miller Chapel, Adas Israel

Followed by pot-luck dairy/veggie dinner, singing, drashing,
shmoozing....(main courses especially appreciated)
----> At the home of Stefan, in Cleveland Park.

For directions, check your Zoo Mail, or write to info@ZooMinyan.org.


+++ ABOUT DINNER - it's a pot-luck!

Don't worry about whether your kitchen is kosher (or “kosher enough”),
everyone gets to contribute. But please be prepared to explain what's
in your dish, to help people avoid allergy or kashrut issues.

If you're worried about whether you'll be able to eat at Zoo Minyan,
there is always a critical mass of pot-luck contributions with a
heksher or cooked in someone's heksher-only kitchen. The challot and
grape juice are always hekshered. And you'll get to know people as you
ask who brought which dish. Questions? Ideas? Want to help? Write back
to Fridays@ZooMinyan.org. Shabbos is coming!

And don't forget to mark your calendars for the fast approaching June
27th Zoo Minyan (parshat Korach!). And feel free to grab your leyning
slot early, at www.TinyURL.com/Leyning

For more FRIDAY NIGHT INFO, get all the details here. And for all the upcoming Friday night dates (through September -- can you believe it?), check the Zoo Minyan Google calendar.

A Moveable Feast of Torah

An idle thought about modern minyanim --

We're not very tied down, at Zoo Minyan and its various havurah-nik and minyan cousins. Last shabbos, we comforably fit a Moveable Minyan into one car-load:

• siddurim (three sets)
  
• chumashim
  
• pews (a half-dozen backjacks)
  
• catering (okay, really just dishes, utensils, etc)
  
• tallesim, kippot, madrich, luach, etc
  
• yad, torah blessings, tikkunim, and torah coverings
  

and most important, a sefer torah!

That's pretty much all we need to have a minyan (besides a minyan, of course). No permanent building, no stained glass and no organ (just our vocal chords), not a lot of paraphenalia and bulk. And of course that's by design -- not just a contrast between independent minyanim vs institutionalized religion, but also an essential aspect of yiddishkeit. Maybe it's a reaction to so many generations living in the shadow of so many exiles, needing the ability to flee and then re-establish a community quickly. Or maybe it goes back even earlier...

We just paused in the midst of our Torah-reading cycle in the middle of Perek Dalet in B'Midbar. We're reading about the duties of the various clans of Levites for moving the Mishkan -- the original Moveable Mishkan. Through forty years of wandering in the desert, and some more wandering even after we arrived in Eretz Yisrael, we had to assemble, disassemble, and re-assemble our sanctuary and altar over and over again. The instructions in these parshiot are detailed, practical, and quite a bit of work! Yet everything was clearly designed for mobility from the beginning, with carrying staves built into various large objects, ballasted foundations to support the erection of anything vertical, etc.

But we interrupted the reading of these instructions this past shabbat with a yontiff commemorating our receiving Torah, which happened even before the Mishkan was constructed. And Torah is the ultimate in mobility. A sefer torah is really the only thing that a Jewish community absolutely must have. And some Torah-learning is really the only thing that a Jewish community must know. All the rest, as it says, is commentary.

So how do we take full advantage of this unencumbered religion? What do we do with this weightlessness of the spirit? At Zoo Minyan, it means we get to bring davenning to your living room (check the calendar for dates that still need volunteers to host!). What are your stories of moveable -- and therefore ubiquitous -- torah?

PS: If you didn't get enough of Megillat Ruth over Shavuos, you can feast on this wonderful reading / drashing by Reb Zalman.

Shavuot at the Zoo

It's the only one-day yontiff of the year, but we've got a lot going on for Shavuot at Zoo Minyan. Check the calendar for details on the Tikkun, starting Thursday night -- until we all reach Sinai and receive the Torah at dawn.

Then sleep to your hearts content on the 1st day of Shavuot, wake up and join us for:

Blintz Fest at Deborah and Shalom's
- 1st Day of Shavuot
- 4pm, May 29

No RSVP necessary.

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Come join Shalom & Deborah for their Annual Shavuot Blintz Fest!
(Fri. 5/29) Come by starting at 4pm.
Blintzes come fresh from Grandma's heirloom blintz pan - you are invited to bring toppings. If you are in the mood, other hekshered potluck items are welcome but certainly not required. Eat bubbelah eat!

Fri. night Davening will follow the Blintz Fest.  It will be both yontiff and shabbos, so there will be an abbreviated Kabbalat Shabbat.  Though since we'll be following the nusach Shivyoni / nusach Sefard minhag, not quite as abbreviated as nusach Ashkenaz -- Ps. 29, 1st two and last two verses of l'cha dodi (no limit on the ya-dai-dai's), and then mizmor shir l'yom ha-Shabbat.

After davenning, we'll have a pot-luck shabbos dinner.  Even if you're stuffed from blintzes, stay, shmooze some more, have a ka-zayit of challah....Unlike the usual Zoo custom, please bring heksher-only pot-luck contributions (if you're not sure whether your kitchen counts as heksher-only, just write back to info@zoominyan.org and ask).

And if we still have any energy after dinner, there could even be a little of learning (a "micro-tikkun"?).  Maybe just some highlights of people's favorite learning from various tikkunim the night before; or if you've got something you want to share, bring it along!

Tossing Desserts in the Desert this Shabbos

With the glorious spring weather we've been having here in DC - the breezes, the greenery, and the rain showers that make all that growth possible, it's a bit of a contrast thinking about this week's parsha - Bamidbar. The desert! Which is similar but slightly different in spelling than 'dessert'. Which reminds me, there will be time during the torah reading for throwing candy, but we're getting ahead of ourselves...

This Shabbat:

We'll be gathering for davenning, lunch, shmoozing, singing, etc. this Saturday at the home of Laura, Darya, Sarah, & Scott. Once again we will be on the Mount Pleasant side of the Zoo. We'll also have the joy of an Aufruf this Shabbos i.e. the traditional pelting with candy of 2 beloveds about to be ritually joined for life under the Chuppah. The whole community is invited, so don't skip this week just because you may not know the Bride or Groom - Nechama and Toby.

Volunteers for leyning are not needed (there is one left if you want it), but volunteers for leading, davenning treats, torah schlepping, and the famous Zoo Minyan veggies are very much appreciated – write back to info@ZooMinyan.org.

The self-service leyning spreadsheet is:
tinyurl.com/leyning
(maybe sign up for June?? 'tis the season of Torah after all, what with Shavuot coming soon!)

Please check out our Google calendar and all sorts of other goodies at
our (still excitingly new) website: www.ZooMinyan.org. Two new drashot are up this week, the link for contributing to the Friday night kitty, plus lots of other goodies. You can even add the Zoo Google calendar to your Google Calendar view --
AND... we now have dates through
THE CHAGGIM (Oct.)

A huge line-up of events for next week, from co-sponsoring the Tikkun Leil Shavuot with TLS and Adas, to Blintzfest and Kabbalat Shabbat.  More details on the Zoo calendar, as always.

For help adding Zoo Minyan to your calendar, email EzratSysAdmin@ZooMinyan.org ;)

The Details:

Zoo Minyan
This Saturday, 23 May 2009
Parshat Bamidbar,
10am sharp, with a joyous Psukei d'Zimrah
Pot-luck dairy/veggie lunch -- main courses especially appreciated

At the home of Laura, Darya, Sarah, & Scott, in Mt. Pleasant.

For directions, check your Zoo Mail, or write to info@ZooMinyan.org.

Professor Robert Alter was the visiting scholar at Adas this past shabbos. His shiur Friday night focused on the use of repetition as a literary device in Tanach. He dismissed the idea that minor variations in re-tellings were a glitch in oral transmission, and pointed instead of the use of those variations to draw comparisons or to intensify a pattern.

Looking fairly randomly into Tanach, two examples in the first and second chapters of Melachim Bet (II Kings 1:9-15 and 2:1-6) jump out. Let's take a quick look.

The first example is a classic three-tuple: two identical repetitions with negative outcomes, and a third with a dramatically different outcome that shows what should have happened in the first place. A divine messenger instructs Eliyahu the Prophet to rebuke the wayward King Ahaziah. The message reaches the King, who send a troop of 50 soldiers to...well, it's not clear what the military mission is, we don't hear the orders of the King himself. The captain with the first troops arrives at Eliyahu on the mountaintop, and shouts out that the King orders him to come down ("reida"). Instead what comes down, at Eliyahu's command, is fire from heaven (1:10), consuming the troops and the captain. Events with the second troop of 50 soldiers and their captain unfold exactly the same way, word for word, except that the command is come down NOW! ("meheira reida").

The third captain, a devout or at least an observant soul, tries a different approach, acknowledging the fate of his predecessors, and imploring Eliyahu that his soul, and the souls of these fifty servants, may be precious ("tikar-na") in Eliyahu's eyes. At which point the divine messenger tells Eliyahu to go with them to the King. The message driven home by this three-hold repetition could not be clearer -- in a contest between military force and divine force, there is no contest. And it doesn't hurt to say please.

The second example seems subtler. It is time for Eliyahu's ascent to heaven, and he instructs his disciple Elisha three times to stay behind. Elisha refuses all three times, and eventually accompanies Eliyahu up to the moment of his ascent, and literally assumes Eliyahu's mantle ("aderet Eliyahu"). The three repetitions, as Eliyahu makes his way to Beit El, then Jericho, and finally the midst of the Jordan River, are *nearly* identical, but not quite.

Beit El	Yericho	Yarden
Va-yomer Eliyahu el Elisha, "Sheiv-na...	Va-yomer lo Eliyahu, "Elisha, sheiv-na...	Va-yomer lo Eliyahu, "Sheiv-na...
Eliyahu said to Elisha, "Please stay...	Eliyahu said to him, "Elisha, please stay...	Eliyahu said to him, "Please stay...
Va-yerdu Beit El	Va-yavou Yericho	Va-yelchu sh'neihem
They went down to Beit El	They came to Yericho	They went together

These tiny variations in the midst of a nearly identical three-fold repetition carry a potent message. Eliyahu is about to leave this earthly existance forever; Elisha may or may not be a worthy successor. With each repetition, Eliyahu addresses his friend in just-slightly more intimate ways. And with each repetition, their travel together becomes more unified, until the conclusion of Eliyahu's request that Elisha stay behind is stated with utter clarity: "They went together".

These are small, nicely self-contained examples of the power behind Professor Alter's method, a method which the meforshim (classical commentators) have long employed. What examples in Tanach have you noticed lately?

Now that Lag b'Omer has past, we are into the final stages of Sefirat ha-Omer (and yashar koach to those who are still in the midst of their bracha for the counting).

Sefirat ha-Omer has many cycles and movements within it. But the two poles (separated by Lag b'Omer) are marked by barley and wheat, and by Rabbi Akiva and Rebbe Shimon bar Yochai (the Rashbi). As those who were at Zoo for the last Friday night Raza d'Shabbat drash already know, the Omer period begins with the barley harvest (an "omer" is the measure of barley offered at the altar), starting the day after the Pesach holiday.

Now barley is not an impressive offering. Nowadays, mushroom-barley soup may be comfort food, and foodies may delight in a Barley Risotto with Asparagus and Hazelnuts. But in biblical times, barley was basically animal feed, just barely fit for human consumption.

Sefirat ha-Omer ends with Shavuot, associated of course with Matan Torah (received Torah at Sinai) but also with the beginning of the wheat harvest. Ah, now, wheat -- there's a proper offering: finely ground, baked into challot, rich with oil.

So the first phase of the Omer encourages us to be "barley Jews" -- take whatever we've got, even if it's just barley, and offer it. The important thing is to take action, without worrying about whether it's good enough. But that can't be the end of the story. After Lab b'Omer, we're striving to be "wheat Jews" -- not satisfied until we reach the highest of the high, still striving even after we've given our all.

These are the poles represented by R. Akiva and the Rashbi. Akiva took action, even when one couldn't be sure if it was the perfect time -- most famously, in the Bar Kochba rebellion. But the Rashbi sought only perfection, immersing himself (and his son) in the pure study of Torah for seven years.

So after Lab b'Omer -- we move from Akiva's, "it's good enough, let's just get going already" to, the Rashbi's "we can go to the next madrega; Ha-Shem, make me higher." Lag b'Omer, the Rashbi's yahrzeit, is the day we affirm that dreams don't have to stay dreams.

It would be nice to stop at that point, all aglow from the inspiration of the Rashbi. But Lag b'Omer also involves remember the costs of traveling farther because we dared to reach higher. We remember the thousands of "students" (soldiers) of Rabbi Akiva who did in the "plague" (battles with the Roman Legions). We remember the poor farmer turned to a pile of bones by the fiery gaze of the Rashbi (B. Shabbat 33b). There is nothing linear about the Omer count -- spiritual heights mingle with tragedy, and it can be hard to distinguish one from the other.

So on Lag b'Omer, we not only affirm that dreams don't have to stay dreams. We take on the even harder task, of affirming that the price of turning those dreams into reality can sometimes be worth paying.