Interesting. First, on Dec. 6th I will join all teachers in the religious school, board members, and staff for an emergency response training evening. Stimulated, as you might expect, by Pittsburgh, but always an active consideration.

Second, I read a number of the Jewish responses to the Pittsburgh shooting. All said some version of what Adam Platt emphasizes: believing or not, culturally Jewish or not, anti-Semitism binds us together.

Only 30% or so of Jews in American attend synagogues. That number grows on the High Holidays, like what we used to call the Christmas and Easter alumni. Most of the Jews that I know, including members of CBE are either outright atheists or find the metaphysical part antique, unnecessary.

Like Adam Platt though, most of the CBE folk place a high value on Jewish civilization, on folkways, on the irl lessons that can be learned from Torah, kabbalah, mussar, Talmud, following birth, marriage, coming of age, and death rituals. I fit in with this thinking even though I’m a good bit to the side of the culture, not to mention the metaphysics.

The Judaism I experience at CBE focuses on what it means to be a better human being. That includes being playful, thoughtful, and, above all, being willing to bear the burden of the other.