Please be our guests as Rabbis Victor and Nadya Gross and Rabbi Ori Har DiGennaro lead us in passionate prayer, sacred study, meaningful dialog, personal reflection, exploration in the Godfield, and guided sharing.

This year, our beloved Reb Zalman will offer the teaching that sets us on the path for the New Year, on Wednesday beginning at 7:00 pm. Click for a full schedule of services.

In the spirit of these Holy Days, we open our doors to all seekers, dancers, poets, musicians and singers. Whatever your background, age or experience… if you are called to the holy work of Tikkun Olam – repairing our broken world and ourselves – there is a place for you in our Orchard of Hearts.

Once again, the members of Pardes Levavot invite you to be our guests – no tickets will be sold.

Dance T’fila
Dancing Into The New Year
setting our intentions,
bringing the fullness of Who We Are to the holidays
with a whole body prayer.

If the Jewish tradition had preserved sacred dance as a form of worship, what would it look like? Imagine dancing through the Four Worlds! Listening to your body, allowing expression of your deepest yearning, tuning in to the hum of creation, and diving into your soul and back daring to participate in God’s timelessness.

You need only a willingness to move in new ways, and to pray with your body. No background in dance is required, and everyone can participate according to their ability.

Wear comfortable clothes and bring water and a journal.

Who – This journey is open to those seeking to prepare themselves for the High HolyDays in new and conscious ways to fully embody heaven and earth.

What – Together, and with intention, we will plant the seeds in the soil of our soul to bring about change in our lives, our community and the world.

When – Sunday, September 25th, 9:00 am – 12:00 pm. It is important to be present for the beginning and remain throughout. Doors will be closed when the program begin.

Where – Frequent Flyers’ Aerial Dance Studio 3022 E. Sterling Circle, Suite 150, Boulder, CO 80301*
To cover our expenses please consider a donation of $25.

*Take Valmont going east from Foothills Parkway. Go past the light at Airport Rd. Go past the dog park and take the next Left onto Sterling Circle. At the stop sign, go Right on E. Sterling Circle. You’ll be driving right into our building! Turn into the 2nd driveway. There is a red/white Frequent Flyers sign and a sign with an airplane at the driveway. We’re last door at the end of the building on the left.
You can also take 55th going North (away from Arapahoe) to Valmont. Go L on Valmont and then Right on Sterling Circle. The rest remains the same.

Revolution is made with love, or should not be done at all!

Rabbi Ori Har continues her report from Tel Aviv

“Suddenly a person wakes up in the morning, feels like a nation and starts walking…” These words come from a beloved contemporary Israeli singer – Shlomo Artzi – and they have the ring of prophecy.

This summer, suddenly the Israeli people woke up like a nation. Rather than many desperate individuals glued to their TV, they chose to walk together the path of change, of a new hope for better and for more just life. Living up to the Talmudic dictate Kol Israel Arevim ze laze (All of Israel is responsible for each other), the call is for mutual responsibility, social justice and compassion.

I too joined the 1 million march (as we now know in Tel Aviv 300,000). I have never before marched with hundreds of thousands of people. I did not know what to expect. My feet walked as if on their own as people were chanting Haam Doresh Tzedek Chevrati (The people demands Social Justice).

I felt safe and excited. Safe because we were protected by thousands of friendly police and national guard soldiers, helicopters hovering over our heads and ambulances at ever corner. Excited because in spite of the masses, the energy was peaceful and purposeful, holy and whole. The crowd was mostly young people, young families, carrying signs and cheering, and some beating their drums. There were street performances explaining and promoting the cause.

When we arrived at the the town square Kikar Hamedina the excitement grew as the famous hip-hop band Dag Nachash was performing, followed by speeches of the leaders of the new movement. Dafni Leef, a 25 years old brave woman gave a beautiful speech urging the government to listen and heed to the people and calling the people to have the courage to dream for a better Israel.

One day after the march, in an interview with Stav Shafir, another beautiful social protest leader, in which she was asked whether they grew tired, she said:

The answer is that for some 50 days now we’ve been more awake than ever. This weekend we mark the 50-day anniversary of wide open eyes, voices that are hoarse from yelling and legs that are aching from marching. This road isn’t easy, yet just like the case with any good trip, where the trail may be baffling, here too it is clear to each and every marcher that the scenery at the end of the road is amazing and worth the effort.

This is where we’re going. This scenery is the new society we will and must build in the state where we grew up. We shall continue to see this scenery on the horizon and we shall keep marching until we get there…This circle will keep growing until it breaks through our government’s walls and it starts to comply with our demands.”

We walked the long way back home, along with my son and his friends, musing over the possibility of such a peaceful civil disobedience movement being created in the States. Maybe, after all, from Zion, Torah can come out and we can be a light to the nations. Ken Yehi Ratzon.

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TEL AVIV- 2 September 2011 – When walking through Tel-Aviv’s tent city on Rothschild Blvd., one may get the impression that they are walking through a communal camping ground, perhaps set up outside of a reggae music festival in the mountains. This feeling, however, would be deceiving. The rows and rows of tents along the boulevard are standing there for a completely different purpose.

We stand on the eve of the biggest Israeli civil demonstration ever, culminating seven weeks of protests and demands for social revolution and the restoration of a social government in Israel. I have overheard conversations in Hebrew, English, Russian, French and Arabic. This is not a movement affiliated with a political party. It is truly neither left nor right, religious nor secular, but rather a movement embraced by almost the entire population of the country.

Thousands of posters and signs hang from the tree tops, are posted to the tent doors, drape from the sculptures that normally adorn the street. There are signs asking for a clean environment, demands for changes in the housing laws, signs that say “Jews and Arabs for Social Justice”, and a half-dozen signs quoting the famous verse from this week’s Torah Portion, Shoftim: Tzedek Tzedek Tirdof (Justice, Justice pursue). “Revolution is made with love or should not be done at all” is painted above a neighborhood sculpture in the middle of the boulevard shaped like a heart.

All of this in preparation for the big event – the one million person march that will symbolically begin with a Havdalah at the end of Shabbat Shoftim and will unite people from all walks of life calling on the Israeli government to cease its financial corruption and pay as much attention to the people’s desire for affordable housing and education as to security and peace talks.

Read More: Israelis turn out for largest economic protest

At the Shuk

OHALAH, the conference of the Association of Rabbis for Jewish Renewal, returns to the Boulder area this year! Many in our community have enjoyed Kabbalat Shabbat led by ALEPH: Alliance for Jewish Renewal’s spiritual leaders and have celebrated the ordination of new Rabbis, Cantors and Rabbinic Pastors at previous conferences.

THIS YEAR, the community is invited to attend these events and the greatly expanded Shuk – Bazaar of Jewish crafts, books and music.

• Sunday, January 9th - 4:00 – 6:00 pm (immediately following the Ordinations Ceremony which begins at 2 pm)
• Monday, January 10th – 4:30 – 6:00 pm

At the Omni Interlocken Resort in Broomfield.
If you wish to participate as a vendor, please contact Charlotte Sutker, Shuk coordinator, at ravencas@shaw.ca, today!

Can you tell us a little bit about your project?
It began as a desire to document grass roots movements who bring together Jews and Arabs. The point of this was not to look at groups who are intentionally confrontational or political, but create a space for these two neighboring cultures to see each other as humans. Because of my background as a musician, I chose to specifically focus on groups using that as a tool.

What was your favorite experience during your visit to Israel last year?
My favorite experience was the one time I didn’t turn the camera on, when I was asked to teach music at an all-Arab Waldorf elementary school. Throughout my visit, my biggest frustration was my inability to be a participant – always being stuck behind the camera. But, on this one occasion, I was given the opportunity to practice what I was preaching and actually interact as a Jew amongst Arabs. My favorite part of this experience was teaching an 8 year old boy how to play scales on the piano, while not being able to communicate verbally; he didn’t speak English and I don’t speak Arabic.

What do you hope people watching your movie will come away with?
A more positive and progressive outlook on the situation. I’m a big supporter of the “act as if” philosophy toward this particular conflict. I hope that people will learn to recognize and support these valid efforts to live the peaceful lifestyle, rather than put their energy toward partisan efforts (such as: protests or one-sided rallies).

What are your next steps?
I was recently told that before hitting theaters the movie Blade Runner went through 15 cuts and an additional 5 after premiering. I plan to continue editing and fine-tuning the film and promoting more of these neutral peaceful efforts based in cross-cultural dialog. Soon, I would like to begin coordinating joint efforts amongst these groups, to help them support one another, and reach a larger audience.

You can see Amitai’s documentary and hear more about his vision and the work being done in Israel/Palestine this Sunday, December 19th at 7:00 pm at Congregation Har HaShem, 3950 Baseline Road, Boulder. Suggested donation $18.

In January and February of 2010, Amitai Gross, son of Rabbis Nadya and Victor Gross of Boulder’s Pardes Levavot, traveled to Israel with a camera and a few leads, searching for groups and individuals committed to building peaceful dialogue between Jews and Arabs using the greatest tool for peaceful communication ever invented: music.

Now, one year later, the resulting documentary, entitled Music in the Key of Peace, is ready to be shared with activist and skeptic alike. Dancing between insightful interviews, inspiring performances, and shared desires for a peaceful future, this film teaches the most important lesson anyone committed to bringing peace to the region could learn: It is possible. And very achievable.

Showings this winter will include the movie itself as well as a discussion with the filmmaker. Please join us for this special, community-wide event, on Sunday, December 19th at 7 pm, at Congregation Har HaShem, 3950 Baseline Road, Boulder. Suggested Donation of $18.

On Tuesday, Nov. 9th, BBYO is holding a community-wide program, in partnership with Temple Sinai in Denver. The program is called It Won’t Happen To Me. The program will be held from 7:00 pm to 9:00 pm at Temple Sinai, 3509 S. Glencoe St., Denver.

It Won’t Happen To Me (IWHTM) is a non-profit organization whose mission it is to eliminate the number one cause of teen fatalities – car accidents. Most of these deaths are preventable. Seventy percent of all teen car fatalities didn’t have to happen. One common misconception is that fatal crashes usually involve alcohol or drugs. In fact, less than 25% of teen car deaths result from alcohol and drugs. The typical situation involves good kids making bad decisions. How do you talk to your kids to help keep them safe? Mark your calendars and make this an evening you share with them.  More information available by emailing rmr@bbyo.org.