AGK, HUC and Beit Or

Shavuot began with the warm welcome of Rabbi Gesa Ederberg (our "frisch gebackene Rabbinern"--newly ordained rabbis--Adam and Jill lit the candles) and a fantastic study session led by Jerusalem faculty member Rabbi Dr. Dahlia Marx. Break out groups were led simultaneously in German and English and some people managed to greet Shacharit at 4am Berlin time!

Our group visited the Jewish Museum on Shavuot afternoon--a fascinating building that houses an eclectic and highly interactive collection. Our tour guide was the fabulous Thorsten Wagner whose historical knowledge challenged all of us to remember our three long days in the classroom.

And we capped the day with a truly blessed evening with colleagues from the Abraham Geiger College, Germany's own liberal rabbinical program (which counts students who come from over 15 countries). Shabbat ended with a dinner shared with the students we met last week from Humboldt University. It's been a great holiday weekend.

Tomorrow: Hamburg or Bust!

Hag Shavuot Sameach and Shabbat Shalom!

We'll be celebrating with the Beit Or community tonight (think of us at 4am, Berlin time, when those who manage to stay awake will be davening Schacharit) and meeting our Abraham Geiger College colleagues tomorrow for Shabbat. More pics and posts after Havdalah!

Back to Berlin

After a truly hilarious walking tour through Weimar, we train'd back up to Berlin in time to meet with a group of theology students at the Humboldt University. Their needs met ours: as students in a class on inter-religious dialogue, HUCnikim engaged an incredibly thoughtful, open and honest colleagues.

With just a little bit of time left over before getting ready for our tikkun leil Shavuot, our group dispersed to all corners of the city. The weather has been crazy (Emma says it's as if Berlin cycle through all four seasons every four hours) but the drama fits the city well.

On our way back "home"

Great minds think alike

Looks like we're not the only ones who are interested in Weimar.

reaching back in space and time

adding to the intensity of the day was an evening in Erfurt where we were treated to a medieval themed dinner at Lutherkellar (Luther's Cellar).

Buchenwald Memorial

An early morning start had us arriving just outside of Weimar (in south eastern Germany) at the site of the former concentration camp Buchenwald around noon. The clock is stopped at the time American troops arrived to liberate the camp on April 4, 1945.

We gathered to mourn all the victims in front of Bunk 22, where the powerful memorial is flanked by a citation from Psalm 78:6: "So that the generation to come might know, the children, yet to be born, that they too may rise and declare to their children."

Crossroads of East and West

Reconstructed stoplight--the first in Europe--at Potsdamer Platz. As our guide said, people fought against the intrusion of technology with the claim, "we will never allow machines to rule our lives."

day tripping

From yesterday's long day of touring: an even longer respite at the Sony Center for lunch and a rainstorm.

HaYom Yom Huledet, HaYom Yom Huledet...

...to celebrate Sarah's birthday!

and so it begins...

Everyone made it safe and sound--and without too much trouble--to our fancy pants hotel in the middle of Berlin. Our guides, Nadine and Thomas, led us straight to the Centrum Judaicum in the Neue Synagogue where the fabulous Germany Close Up folks greeted us with fresh itineraries and all the tiny details that make up this trip. Then off we went to dinner at Cafe Orange....

and boy, are my arms tired!

As you make your way across the ocean, use a journal entry to describe your expectations for this trip? About what are you most intrigued and/or most anxious? And in what ways have (at least some of) your preconceived notions (about the class, the subject, the material) changed or been reinforced?

Monuments, Memorials, Meaning-Makers

For the third journal entry, describe a monument of your own construction that speaks to some aspect (or many aspects) of the focus of our class: German-Jewish history, culture, literature, thought, and/or experience. What kind of monument you make is entirely your choice; whether it be theoretical, highly symbolic and non-referential or concrete, specific, and well-explained is part of your design decision. Include in your description the location of your monument, the materials out of which it would constructed, and what it is meant to signify.

vielen Dank!

Thank you to Mr. Lars Leymann, Consul for Culture, Public and Legal Affairs from the Los Angeles General Consuls Office for joining our multi-campus class this morning/afternoon! (And the LA students thank you in particular for the copies of Jeffrey Peck's fabulous book Being Jewish in the New Germany.)

On the second night of class, my journal entry is...

Gershom Scholem wrote that a “German-Jewish Dialogue” never existed because a dialogue requires two parties and Jews had only thought their counterparts were listening. Discuss the oppositional terms “Germans” and “Jews” used here by Scholem and by our other authors, and—employing your expertise on Jewish-German history—detail and analyze the repercussions of his argument. What are the merits of disassociating Jewish Germans from non-Jewish Germans? Do you agree with the assessment that there was no “dialogue” between the two groups, why or why not? Make sure to use the readings from the day to support your opinion and, in doing so, identify how the non/dialogue has or has not changed through the history of Jewish presence in Germany.

Our Guest tomorrow....

We're looking forward to greeting and meeting a representative of the German Consulate in class tomorrow....


Make sure to check out the "Zeitgeist is German" photo contest! And, Germany is celebrating two anniversaries: the birth of the Federal Republic of Germany (in 1949) and the fall of the Berlin Wall (in 1989). Stay tuned for pictures of our own to celebrate the occasions.

the first of many journal prompts

In what ways do Judaism and Jews create ambivalence for German thinkers (and vice versa: in what ways does German-ness create ambivalence for Jews)? Considering the history of Jews and Judaism in the German context, how do both Jews and non-Jews in the eighteenth- and nineteenth-centuries affect strategies to integrate or segregate Jews and Judaism from majority culture? Think about what might be at stake for non-Jewish and Jewish Germans regarding integration and Emancipation as you formulate your answer.

the irony of satire

A quick piece from today's NY Times about the production of The Producers now showing in Berlin. Thoughts?

the all-nighter....

In thinking about what text to bring for our Shavuot study session, see if you can incorporate something about Germany or German Jews or German-Jewish history when you make your pick. A potentially obvious source would be something about revelation or Shavuot or a commentary on Ruth by one of the founders of the Hamburg Temple. (Plaut would be a good place to start looking for that.) Or, if you're a big fan of critical theory, why not bring something from Hannah Arendt? Or, if you've been more interested than you thought you might be about the medieval experience in Germany, make a stretch and bring a text from Rashi (or, Rabbenu Gershom, or, Glueckl of Hameln) to share. OR, if you're a literature person--why not a poem from any of the poets Elon mentions? Or--if you're feeling bold--pick something from Mendelssohn's Biur (his commentary on the TaNaKh). If you've got an idea that you're not sure how to find, check with me; I may be able to help.

mit gepackten Koffer...

Should you need or want such a thing, some helpful tips on packing for the upcoming trip.

phoning it in...

Worried about how to stay in touch? There are several articles about using cell phones while abroad. Here are two NY Times articles that might be helpful:
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/03/15/technology/15basics.html?scp=1&sq=cell%20phones%20abroad&st=cse and http://frugaltraveler.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/03/24/staying-in-touch-internationally-on-the-cheap/?scp=25&sq=cell%20phones%20abroad&st=cse.

Also, Heath did some investigative research and found out that at&t's international plans seems like it charges $6/month for International Roaming, and with that, calls to the US are $0.99 a minute. He also found a website - Cellular Abroad (http://www.cellularabroad.com/germanyRcell.php) that rents phones. The rate to the US is $0.12 a minute, but it's about $50 to rent a phone for the length of our trip. (Thanks Heath!)

Location, Location, Location

check your in-boxes for an invitation (read: summons) to Google Documents where you will find all the readings not in our required sources....

At long last....

For your reading pleasure: the syllabus!

Edited to add: And, for those of you who are curious: here's also the final paper assignment.

Synagogues in Berlin

For your tefilot needs while in Berlin

On the Jewish Museum in Berlin

From this weekend's NY Times: a piece on the Juedisches Museum. Thanks to Jill Cozen Harel for the tip!