(Formerly The Ritualist)
The BIRTH of a baby.
A BAR or BAT MITZVAH.
The decision to WED.
The need to arrange a FUNERAL.
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Each of these MILESTONES is momentous. Marking the transition with a JEWlSH RITUAL can make it even more meaningful. VISION We envision a future in which Judaism is experienced as accessible, inspiring and vital to the vast majority of Jews. The contribution of JEWISH MILESTONES to the realization of this vision is in harnessing the transformative power of lifecycle rituals, forging a new professional path for facilitators of ritual and encouraging candid discussion of the de facto reality of contemporary North American Jewish life that is lived primarily outside of a synagogue framework. |
MISSION
Jewish Milestones is dedicated to deepening the engagement of Jews with their heritage
by supporting active participation in authentically Jewish and personally meaningful rites of
passage: typically related to birth, maturation, partnering, and loss.
We accomplish our mission by serving as an educational resource to:
- Celebrants who are seeking personalized, educative consultations and ritual-related referrals.
- Service providers, professionals and lay people, in order to cultivate reflective practitioners, promote best practices and help augment their own capacity to serve in the context of their own communities.
- Jewish communal organizations, researchers and all those interested in exploring the various fields that intersect with our work (such as Jewish practice among non-synagogue members, the needs of interfaith families, innovation in Jewish ritual, etc.) other professionals
FOUNDATION
- The Centrality of Education
First and foremost, we see ourselves as educators. Education is our primary task and it defines our approach.
- The Transformative Power of Ritual
We know that ritual in general, and Jewish lifecycle ritual in particular, holds the potential for powerful personal and communal transformation. The process that leads up to the ritual, plus the relationship that is established between the participant(s) and the facilitator, activates this power.
- The Acceptance of Diversity
We believe it is important to accept, if not embrace, diversity in Jewish practice, identification, and association. This is in addition to a fundamental belief in the equality of all people.
- The Development of Lay Facilitators
According to traditional Jewish law (halakhah), lifecycle rituals do not require the presence of an ordained rabbi. We promote the (re)empowerment of educated lay leaders in the provision of religious services, such as the facilitation of lifecycle rituals, and foster the development of best practices for this emerging field.
VALUES
- Tzelem Elohim—respect for the uniqueness and fundamental equality of every human being
- Brit—commitment to forging professional relationships based on well-articulated expectations, clear boundaries, and mutual respect
- Mikadesh Hol—belief in the nearly limitless possibilities of experiencing the sacred
~~UPDATE~~
Check it out! Jewish Milestones is in the News again:
Demystifying the Mikvah: New community bath in Los Gatos reflects changing ritual
by Stacey Palevsky
J. - The Jewish News Weekly of Northern California
and
A Note from Rabbi Creditor: Celebrating Equal Marriage in California!
JOIN US @ Bnai Mitzvah Family Camp
A spiritual journey for the entire family enabling the Bnai Mitzvah preparatory experience to be an opportunity to grow individually and together.August 18 - 24, 2008
Co-sponsored by Jewish Milestones
and Storahtelling
Treat your family to a unique retreat in preparation for your child's upcoming Bar/Bat Mitzvah. When a son or daughter officially begins the journey into adulthood it greatly impacts the whole family - parents, siblings, relatives and friends. We invite families of children becoming Bar/Bat Mitzvah between November 2008 and October 2009 to spend a week together before the school year begins to explore this significant rite of passage through creative arts, experiences in nature, Torah study and peer group discussions.
For more information click here
UPDATE! The March 23rd Torah Dedication Event has been POSTPONED!
THE SITUATION
After months of anticipation and beneath layers of bubble wrap the Torah scroll arrived late last week from Israel. Once unrolled, it lay on a table side by side with photos of the scroll we had purchased, and the comparison revealed that the wrong scroll had been sent. Our disappointment was compounded by the fact that the condition of the scroll that had arrived did not make it worth keeping in an exchange. Subsequently, we learned that the original scroll was no longer available and our money was being returned.
With only two weeks remaining before the dedication of this Torah, we regret that we need to postpone the event until a new Torah can be purchased (from a different broker) and new arrangements can be made to host the ritual and celebration.
GRATITUDE
In the meantime, a lot of work has already gone into arranging the March 23rd event. We are especially grateful to volunteer extraordinaire, Margie Walkover, for taking on the meta-project, soferet Jen Taylor Friedman who had already put a lot into planning for her presentation, and to musicians John Erlich, Daniel Eshoo, & Jano Bogg (members of Zatar), as well as photographer Rudi Halbright, who had put aside time to donate their professional services that afternoon. We are also grateful to Rabbi Stuart Kelman for contributing expertise as a sofer to help us evaluate the Torah that we received, and Rachel Heinstein and Sam North whose preparation to chant Torah that day will have to wait but will not be for naught....
STAY TUNED
For those of you who had been planning on attending and for those of you who had wanted to but couldn't make the 23rd in particular, we really hope that you will be able to join us when we reschedule the event.
We will keep you posted about the rescheduled celebration of the Jewish Milestones Lending Torah!
Slingshot // A Resource Guide to Jewish
Jewish Milestones is listed three consecutive years in Slingshot //
A Resource Guide to Jewish Innovation, created by 21/64, a division of the Andrea and Charles Bronfman Philanthropies:
".... It is a resource list of 50 of the most innovative [Jewish]
organizations, projects, and leaders across the country, all of them offering valuable projects with different perspectives, strategies and in different locales."
Read about it in the Jewish Week.
What Do You Get When You Take
1 Hospice Nurse
2 Jewish Communal Professionals
2 Mental Health Professionals
3 Professional Musicians
1 Visual Artist-Arts Educator
and 2 Activists
ON AN INTENSIVE 3-DAY RETREAT TO
STUDY JEWISH WEDDING FACILITATION?
click here to learn more
Starring Jewish Milestones
Jewish Milestones Executive Director, Rachel Brodie led two "webinars" (web-based seminars) for rabbis, other synagogue professionals and lay leaders from Atlanta, Philadelphia and Los Angeles in late November.
The 17 synagogues are part of STAR's
(Synagogues: Transformation and Renewal) "Calling Synagogue Home" initiative to engage interfaith families through lifecycle events.
Rachel's presentation was called, "Before I Can Call Synagogue Home I Need to Know What You Call Me" Engaging the Jewish Partner in an Interfaith Relationship. click here to learn more.
Artistic Ketubot
One of the many ways that Jewish Milestones serves as a resource is to function as consultants, not only with individuals and families, but also with communal institutions. One such relationship was forged with the Peninsula Jewish Community Center (PJCC) as they developed a yearlong cultural arts celebration of the Jewish lifecycle.
click here to learn more.
Jewish Milestones has found a home
We're not in Kansas
(or a P.O. Box) anymore!
click here to learn more.
And More....
Click here to read our newsletters: July 2008
November 2007
September 2007
November 2006
Click here to learn more about the CD "IMMERSED": Music for Mayyim Hayyim!
Jewish Milestones ~ 748 Gilman Street ~ Berkeley, CA 94710 ~ 510.559.3636 ~ 510.559.4646 (fax)
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