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May 27, 2021 | 16 Sivan 5781
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NEWS & VIEWS Student Creativity
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Innovating Art, Music, and Spirituality at a Time of Challenge
How can the arts enhance our spiritual connection—even when we cannot be together?
This year, graduate student and alumni in Hebrew College’s Innovation Lab tackled this question—implementing innovative creative, visual, musical, movement-based, and personal narrative projects to enhance congregational and religious life during the unprecedented time of COVID-19.
“The arts became essentially important when people were constrained from being together face-to-face. If anything, there was a huge proliferation of innovative projects to engage people through music, dance, creative expression and visual arts,” said Rabbi Jeffrey Summit, director of the Hebrew College Innovation Lab and Research Professor in the Tufts University's Department of Music and Judaic Studies. “Our focus was how to use our tools at hand to keep cultural and spiritual and artistic life vibrant under the constraints of today’s world.”
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(Image above: Innovation Project Shavuot pop-up book created by Rabbi Elyssa Joy Austerklein`11 .)
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Spreading Creativity — in Song and Print
Outside of rabbinical school, Hebrew College student and two-time Innovation Lab participant Jackson Mercer infuses creativity into Jewish music and literature. His two newest adventures are a children's book (above), "Wise Friends"—which tells the story of a young boy who has learned to nurture and befriend the trees, reminding readers of the wisdom of our sacred tradition—and a new album, "Notnim B'ahavah Reshut," which he calls "an invitation, sent to you, in love."Jackson explains that the album title comes from a moment in the morning prayers when the community recites liturgy. "We turn to one another and give one another permission to continue in prayer, saying 'Notnim reshut.' In some Hasidic communities, as well as mine at Hebrew College, another phrase is added, 'b’ahavah' (in love), and people within the community look up from their prayer books and make eye contact with another during prayer. My Jewish path has been fostered by loving permission. This album is the beautiful result of those spaces and relationships of growth. This album is also an invitation, sent to you, in love."
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Teen Beit Midrash Students Combine Creativity & Text
Is squid ink Kosher? Can you time travel on shabbos? Students in Hebrew College's Teen Beit Midrash program tackle these questions together using creativity, text study, and their pluralistic perspectives, and learn about themselves and their classmates in the process. At the end of the year, students do hazarah, meaning they review all that they have learned during the year. Then they identify the themes of the year, pick their favorite quotes, and make their own Talmud of the quotes. This spring, Teen Beit Midrash students also honed their creativity to create promotional videos about their program (watch Judy's video above), encouraging other teens who love to learn to come together to explore big questions and issues through Talmud.
Registration for Teen Beith Midrash summer and fall programs is now open. Learn more here.
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How Me’ah (Unexpectedly) Informed My Artwork
When I signed up for Me’ah Classic in 2017, I had no expectation that my two-year Jewish history journey would have such a profound impact on my art making. You see, when I retired after 40+ years in a variety of work settings—fundraising, stay-at-home dad, building contractor, social worker—my intention was to devote my time to making sculpture, a lifelong-but-postponed passion. Finally, I had the time and commitment to become an artist.
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Summer Community Education Course Registration is Open!
Study online this summer with Hebrew College. We have community courses for all levels, stages, and ages.
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Relighting Our Lives this Summer
Parashat Behaalotecha (Numbers 8:1–12:16)
By Rabbi Daniel Klein`10, Hebrew College Dean of Students
As a teenager, I was very blessed that I more or less enjoyed school and my school-year activities. But, like many kids, summer camp was the core of my life. It felt like 10 months of the year were lived in black and white, and then I arrived at Camp Yavneh, and life sprang into color.
The summer, for many of us, is the great destination up ahead on the road of our year. We play on the beach, eat lunch outside, take vacations, and have long visionary meetings at work that fuel our imaginations. Summer is that time when life more often explodes into color. And this year, all the more so.
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Hebrew College Commencement and Ordination ceremonies will be livestreamed on June 6. Check the Commencement web page for details.
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Hebrew College Virtual Events
The Queer Jewish Arts Festival
JCC of Greater Baltimore
Partners: Hebrew College and others
June 1-13 | $40 Pride Pass for all virtual events
Learn more
Hebrew College Jewish Teen Foundation of Greater Boston (JTFGB)
Grant Ceremony
June 2 | 6:30 p.m. EST
Learn more
Commencement Ceremony (Livestreamed)
June 6 | 12 p.m. EST
Learn more
Rabbinical and Cantorial Ordination Ceremonies (Livestreamed)
June 6 | Cantorial 1:15 p.m. EST | Rabbinical 3 p.m. EST
Learn more
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SUPPORT LEARNING & LEADERSHIP IN OUR DIVERSE AND INTERCONNECTED WORLD
Please help deepen Hebrew College’s impact on building a community of sacred purpose—a community that draws deeply on our texts and traditions to create a world of greater holiness, justice, and compassion. Make a gift before the close of our fiscal year, June 30, 2021.
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