#Gospel Reading: John 10:22-30

#Jesus confessed His #relationship with His #Father on #Hanukkah.

https://shj.org/jews-of-latin-america-fall-2024-humanistic-judaism-magazine/

I'm sharing this link to the preview edition of the new issue of #HumanisticJudaism magazine, which focused primarily on the Jews of Latin America, but also on the @SHJ's Humanistic Jewish role model of the year, The Mothers of the Plaza Mayo in Argentina.

This was my final issue as editor, so I thought I would share my editorial note (with some hashtags and links added) from the issue which gives a preview of the content.

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According to Israeli author Yuval Noah Harari (see our review of his latest book on page 7), stories are the life blood of human civilization, providing meaning and context to our experiences in this world. Unfortunately, stories also have a critical weakness. Since they are subjective in nature, the limited perspective and worldview of the storyteller unavoidably distorts the narrative.

For far too long, much of the Jewish institutional world has centered the stories of the Jews of Israel, Europe and North America over all other stories, which means we are missing out on the stories and lessons of Jews from other parts of the world. This issue’s focus on the Jews of #LatinAmerica is intended as a
partial corrective to this omission.

Two of the voices in this issue are from Latin American Jews themselves: Rabbi Andy Faur who wrote about Latin American Jewish peoplehood, and Ilan Rosenthal who shared about #Mishpajag, an experimental Humanistic Jewish community in #Mexico.

The theme of this issue also is connected to this year’s Humanistic Jewish Role Model of the Year: the Mothers of the Plaza de Mayo, a protest movement of mothers who courageously sought the truth about their children who “disappeared” during the days of the US-backed military dictatorship in #Argentina. Their story is told by
Judith Tiferes and Rabbi Miriam Muroff Jerris.

And finally, we have a piece by me on Jewish cultural travel to #Cuba, a place where Judaism is thriving despite challenging circumstances.

In this issue we also hear from Adam King Skrzynskii who makes a humanistic case for the value and relevance of #Hanukkah, as well as Rabbi Jeffrey L Falick who discusses the pernicious nature of
antisemitism that is popping up in unexpected places.

Finally, we have community news updates from Or Emet Minnesota Congregation For Humanistic Judaism (Minneapolis/St. Paul, MN),
Baltimore Jewish Cultural Chavurah (MD), and Or Adam Congregation For Humanistic Judaism (Phoenix, AZ).

Due to my changing life circumstances, this is my last issue of editing this magazine. I am very grateful that I had the opportunity to work with so many incredible people in our movement over the last three years, but I must give a special thank you to Rabbi Miriam Jerris, whose humor and enthusiasm made the challenging parts of the job much easier.

I have a lot of confidence in my successor, Cantor Jonathan L. Friedmann. I believe his long experience engaged in Jewish culture and commitment to our movement will be invaluable. I am excited to see how the magazine will evolve under his leadership.

In gratitude,
JMB
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To subscribe to the magazine, please visit: shj.org/magazine

#HumanisticJudaism

Trio Sefardi plays an hour-long concert of Sephardic music at the Kennedy Center's #MillenniumStage. This genre of early music is an enjoyable mixture of Jewish and Spanish styles.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_DurQ1iD8DI

#EarlyMusic #SephardicMusic #Hanukkah #KennedyCenter #TrioSefardi

Last night I helped* the 11yo put together his Lego Batman Brickheadz, which was his final Hanukkah present. We sipped hot apple cider and listened to the Batman Begins movie soundtrack. A perfect end to my winter break.

*"Helped" in the loosest definition of the word. The 11yo lets me sort and find pieces for him while he does the assembly. Sadly (for me), we're years beyond the point where he actually requires my assistance.

#Lego #Batman #Hanukkah #today

Eighth and last night of #Hanukkah. #ChagSameach, y’all — and happy New Year too. 🕎

#Jewish #Mazeldon