Hello everybody!
My name is Joy Getnick and I'm the Jewish Program Director at the JCC, as well as the Judaic Educator here at Camp Seneca Lake. Essentially I oversee all things Jewish. This is my third summer in this role at CSL, and I'm excited for a great season.
Each week I deliver a "dvar" or sermon...of sorts, to the camp community. I will then post those dvarim for the community to enjoy. The Judaic Specialist, Leah Friedman, and I will also post on Judaic periods and Saturday discussions. Please never hesitate to contact me with questions or comments about the Judaic program at CSL. We're proud of our strong program, but are also constantly re-evaluating it to ensure we're best meeting the needs of today's campers and staff. I look forward to continuing that dialogue this summer. Shabbat shalom!
Sincerely,
-Joy Getnick
jgetnick@jccrochester.org
Shabbat shalom, and welcome to staff Shabbat! Each Friday night and Saturday morning we will gather together as a camp community to celebrate this traditional Jewish day of rest as a time separate from the chaos of the camp schedule. For those of you for whom this is your first Jewish service, don't panic! While certainly many aspects of the CSL service involve traditional Jewish prayer, ideas, and concepts, hopefully the big picture is much broader.
Our services have a variety of components. We recite a selection of core Jewish prayers, sing songs that either relate to the theme of the week or share service-appropriate messages, and invite members of our camp community – most frequently campers – to share brief reflections.
One of my roles is to translate the parasha's messages into something tangible. It's my job to help bring each parasha to life in a way that has relevance and meaning for us. Some weeks that is easier to do than others. This week's parasha, Chukat, begins with what is to me one of the most perplexing, bizarre commandments in the Torah. At the beginning of the parasha God instructs Moses and Aaron to slaughter a perfectly red cow, mix its ashes with water, and then use the compound to purify those who come into contact with a corpse. Really. I remember when I first read this parasha, and thinking that it was just a really odd commandment. I remember being even more intrigued when I learned that there are efforts taking place as we speak to breed a perfectly red cow so that these purification rituals can be appropriate conducted.
When I first read parasha Chukat I thought, "hmmm…that's different." Now when I read it I think "how in the world am I going to translate that for CSL?" As it turns out, I'm not alone. Historically, the great rabbis have struggled to translate the commandment of the red cow. Era after era rabbis grappled with how or why this mixture could purify the unclean. Era after era the rabbis concluded that the law was more about obedience than purity, about God testing the will of Moses and Aaron, and in turn the Israelites, to follow a commandment which seemed to have no rational basis.
I struggle with this interpretation. While I understand why the rabbis reached this conclusion, the God in whom I believe doesn't have these types of tests. But that's my belief, my Judaism, my spirituality.
I tend not to do things simply because I'm told. I like to understand, as much as I'm able, how things work, and how things came to be. I know I'll never be able to know everything. I know I'll never be able to understand or process every aspect of life on earth. Every day I get up and plug things into outlets even though I don't fully understand how electricity works. I use the internet even though the concept baffles me. I get in airplanes. I believe in God even though I don't know what God looks like.
To me, the commandment of the red cow is a reminder of the inherent mystery in life. No matter how hard I strive to translate everything around me into something tangible, something meaningful, more often than not I will not succeed. To me, the world remains a mystery – sometimes beautiful, sometimes alarming, sometimes just…as it is. And really, that's what makes life so amazing. Shabbat shalom.
