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I’m on an airplane now with my boy, Kobi, heading out to URJ Camp Newman for a few days, then off to Aspen for a speaking and singing engagement at the JLF conference. This is one of the most special things I’ve ever done being with Kobi. Since he was born, I’ve dreamed about him being on the road with me… just the 2 of us. Never a dull second.

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I went water skiing last Friday and forgot to put on sun block - burnt the heck out of my arms and back. Then, I wore Coppertone block 50 for babies for the rest of the weekend - and it worked like a charm. I will not forget to apply goo next time!

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Went skiing last Friday with my buddy Darin, the old keyboard player in the band, and Seth, the recent grad and former associate at Jewish World Productions. It was AWESOME! I’m going to try to get out and ski the next few days - nothing better - period! Still crankin out the songs for Simply Shabbat - got the new masters midweek and they sound really cool. Prepping hard for the summer tour and more….

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last weekend, I had a sweet Shabbat at 6th and I in DC. I think this was the loudest singing group of young adults we’ve had yet! After playing at 6th and I for a couple years now, it’s really like coming home to tons of friends, lots of cool shared experiences, and still lots to learn about ways to continue making Shabbat meaningful, spiritual, and fun. All tov.

3 weeks ago, I got my boat out with Darin, the old keyboard player in the band. We went skiing and wakeboarding in a nearby lake… Darin actually barefooted which was way cool. It was a beautiful day and the water was so cold that my legs turned a bit blue. So, this week we took the boat out, but all of the lakes were so flooded that we couldn’t find a place where we could put the boat in. After about 2.5 hours of searching for an entrance that wasn’t flooded out, we settled for sitting at an Arby’s and having a nice talk over milk shakes… cute, eh! We’ll get out there soon, darn it!!!

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The last 2 weekends were particularly electric. We had really moving Shabbat Alive services in both Clearwater, FL and Champaign, IL. Tons of community participants and lots of magic moments. Rodeph Sholom in Tampa was packed and had tons of energy with lots of USYers fueling the show. Then yesterday in Austin was inspirational with the J-Serve teens who had spent their day helping the underprivaledged in the community - then rockin out with us later in the day. The airline lost half our bags, so it was nail-biter, but we got our bags minutes before the show and made it happen! It always seems to work out.

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Saturday night at Central Reform Congregation in St. Louis was incredible - as it has been for the last 5 years running. In this ‘dismantling racism’ seder with Jews of color we tell the story of African American oppression in America and eat the ritual foods of African American slavery instead of the ritual foods in the Jewish seder. We sing Negro rituals and traditional Jewish melodies and explore the commonality of Jewish and African American history of oppression, strength, and hope. Also, Cornerstone Baptist Church choir, one of my favorites, was there singing too - great to see old friends! The whole evening ended with a beautiful Havdalah. I started the day going to the zoo with my 2 boys, Kobi and Tal, and my father which was a treasure. This couldn’t have been a better way to end the day and reignite my hope for both my family and the future of the world…. slightly heavy thoughts, but this is actually how the day felt to me!

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Israel has a responsibility to protect its citizens and Jews everywhere in the world. Israel is not fighting the Palestinian people, it is fighting the terrorist organization, Hamas, which calls for the destruction of Israel. The current operation in Gaza is a defensive operation designed to stop Hamas from launching rockets and mortars against Israeli citizens. Israel is making every effort to avoid civilian casualties, actively continuing to offer humanitarian aid to Gaza, and actively working to secure peace with its neighbors.

FACTS:
10,000 + rockets and mortars fired from Gaza since 2001
3200+ rockets and mortars fired from Gaza in 2008
6500+ rockets and mortars fired from Gaza since Israel withdrew from Gaza in 2005
28 deaths caused by rockets and mortars (including Israelis, Palestinians, and foreign workers)
1000+ people in Israel injured from rocket and mortar attacks since 2001
15 seconds Israelis have to get to a bomb shelter once a warning siren has sounded.
8 years Israel has endured rockets and mortar fire from Gaza
449 truckloads of humanitarian aid delivered to Gaza (as of 1/15)
800,000+ leaflets distributed by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) to Gazans instructing them to stay away from terrorists and weapons storage sites
70+ times the IDF warned populated areas before conducting airstrikes
20 Palestinians evacuated to Israel for medical treatment

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It takes a lot of energy to build up to this moment and have the strength to face some of these ‘issues’ that are swirling around me - big and sometimes scary to face. So, I also find myself gravitating towards my friends – picking up the phone and calling my buddies, soaking up time with my kids in a different way, and also thinking about some of the people who have inspired me over the last year to have hope that I HAVE a purpose, that there IS a purpose, that we’re all in this thing TOGETHER.

Last weekend, I was an artist in residence on a special leadership retreat at Capital Camps in PA that was organized by the Jewish Federation of Greater Washington. This weekend retreat had 2 groups – one that represented lay leaders from around the greater Washington region and, the other group, was an amazing group of young adults from Birthright. What an ingenious idea to bring together a group of lay leaders that is so concerned and inspired by young adults. What an ingenious idea to bring together a group of young adults with lay leaders who are such extraordinary role models for participation and leadership in Jewish life!

So, at one point during the retreat, I found myself at a campfire, literally standing on a rock, singing my brains out, literally standing between the young adults from Birthright and the group of lay leaders. What a bizarre place to stand … right in the place between the adults with intentions for future generations of Jews and the embodiment of those intentions in the youth. I was standing between generations and feeling their energy colliding all around me in such positive and exciting ways. (now, to stand up on my soap box for just a second) Figuratively speaking, it’s ‘campfires’ like these where we have both of the groups TOGETHER – the group that is supporting and building the foundation for the youth AND the youth standing together in the SAME place so they can actually SEE each other – HEAR each other – GUIDE and inspire each other. We don’t see this physical/tangible type of ‘meeting’ in the Jewish world as often as we should.

And it was this very experience that has given me an incredible sense of hope for the new year that there are many brilliant people out there like the Orlee Turitz’s from the Federation and the Avital Ingber’s from Birthright who will make these experiences happen, make these connections, and find the effective and powerful answers we all need to make Judaism meaningful, accessible and relevant for future generations.

(ok – I’m stepping down from my soapbox now)
Shanah tova to everyone out there. Thanks for all you have given me and my family and have a sweet, happy, and healthy new year!

Rick

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