storytelling

April 8, 2014
By bethmordecai
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DAY 647: Telling the Story of Passover

Dear Hevreh,   As we approach our final week of preparation for the holiday of Passover, my mind turns to the art of telling the story of Passover. Stories are more than simply their content, they are the methods, the timing, the layers of how that content is shared, and the story of Passover is no different.   Our primary method of telling the story of Passover is through the reading of the Haggadah  at the Passover seder. It is an ancient ritual, but not that ancient. The seder was crafted by the rabbis of the Tannaitic period (approximately 100-300 CE), which means that this scene most definitely never happened. So how was the story of Passover shared prior to the seder?   We get a hint at the answer by virtue of the fact that the haggadah itself[...]

Category : Passover Rabbi Rabbi's Journal
Tag : haggadah meaning passover rabbi rabbi's journal rabbis seder stories story storytelling

storytelling

December 31, 2013
By bethmordecai
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DAY 549: Stories and Shtickle

Dear Hevreh,   Over the past two months, a small group of us have discussed plans for an adult education program for our community and out of that process has emerged two distinct themes: stories and shtickle.   First, stories. To anyone who has come to Friday night services or read some of my journals (like this one or that one), you'll know that stories are an important aspect of my rabbinate. Not only is storytelling one of the most effective ways of communicating ideas, especially in our culture which has a storied oral tradition, but it also provides an access point for us to share the Unique Torah we've accumulated from our life experiences. And by sharing those stories to access our Unique Torah, we create[...]

Category : Adult Education Rabbi Rabbi's Journal
Tag : adult education rabbi rabbi's journal shtickle stories storytelling unique torah